Chardonnay, Part 1

Chardonnay!

Oh Chardonnay, you are so popular, so diverse, so intriguing, so fruity, and so commonly possessing of wood...erm oak... I meant oak... Oaky flavors... toasty, nutty, coconutty, vanillay...

...

Moving on!

This grape is very intriguing as it can be grown in cool to hot climates, have a broad range of flavors, age well, and of course be ridiculously expensive (Meursault and Puligny Montrachet are wonderful examples, although not excluding certain vineyards in Napa as well). The range in flavors usually sticks to green fruit, citrus, mineral, stone fruit, tropical fruit, and the well known oaky/creamy notes. It is generally a full-bodied, creamy, fruity and pretty acidic wine that makes use of malolactic fermentation, the addition lees, and oak. Cooler climates that allow the grape to ripen slowly tend to let the flavors build up, giving more intense notes that range from quarter note triplets, to the occasional dotted eighth. Which let’s be honest... is just redundant, unnecessary, and only used to aggravate people.

Musical theory aside, pairing this wine works with a huge variety of dishes. Contrary to popular belief you can pair this with more than chicken and fish! If you get a Chardonnay that is near the size of Rhode-Island, it is pretty safe to say that as long as the flavors of the dish are similar to the notes/flavors in the wine, you can get away with pairing it with red meat, etc... I know, that seems like crazy talk, but rest assured the same thing goes for using balsamic vinegar and sweet vermouth in a martini. You say it can’t be done?! I say nay to you thy restrained of thought onlookers. ‘Tis possible to do much if thine heart is true and thy flavors and body of... wine... white...

I have no idea where this is going.

Bordeaux, Part 2009

Why Weather Wins

When it comes down to it, one of the most important factors in wine is weather. The amount or rain, temperature, precipitation, heat, cold, wetness, dryness, absolutely not the redundancy of this sentence, pretty much dictates the quality of the vines fruit. If you put all of this together, you can get a pretty good idea of why the wines around Bordeaux (As well as Loire, Alsace, etc...) are so stunning. A good summer, a good winter, and a good spring. But, as well all things, here comes the disclaimer. Not everybody will agree with this. Yes, we all stayed up late at night questioning ourselves and wondering why people would say such things. But when it comes down to it, in my humble opinion, the wines of Bordeaux in 2009 are amazing.

So without further ado, here are two Bordeaux’s that I have had the pleasure of tasting so far.

Chateau Haut-Plantey 2009 Haut-Medoc Grand Vin de Bordeaux

$16.95

This was the first of the three 09 Bordeaux’s I have tasted, and so far it is my favorite. It is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, from the Haut-Medoc region, and ridiculously good. The general consensus of flavors leans toward very ripe, almost baked red fruit (Strawberry in particular for my palate), black currant, tobacco, and chocolate flavors. It has a long, smooth finish, and extremely easy to drink. Over the next few years this wine will develop into something I can’t even fathom, but it might just bring a tear to your eye. If not, well... I don’t know, but... yea... I’ll get you a beer or vodka.

Long story short, a fantastic wine, buy it, buy a case of it, bathe in it, just treat yourself to it. For me. *puppy dog eyes*

Chateau HautBeyzac 2009 Haut-Medoc Cuvee Arthur Grand Vin de Bordeaux

$15.95

This was the second Bordeaux I tasted, and had the pleasure of sharing it with several wine lovers. It has a Streisand-esque nose that just lingers and tickles you down the spine. It is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, so it wasn’t as smooth and fruity as the Merlot, but still had plenty of black fruit to dance around the senses, and smack you across the face for being a bit too overzealous in the approach. This is somewhat like your date to Senior prom, so take your time and enjoy. It will open up... uh...

when...

...

Yea, it’s really good, buy it.

Stories: Part 2

This month in Stories, we have Jonathan via e-mail.

"So I don't have a specific time or place where my love affair with wine began (probably because I've drunk so much over the years), BUT I do recall when my love affair with Malbec started. I went to Buenos Aires in 2005 with some friends and everywhere we went the house wine was a Malbec. And every time we ordered it, it was great! Drinking Malbec on the restaurant patios during the start of summer was so so nice. Plus Malbec and Argentine beef make a sensational combination! I loved it! I still love it! I had a wonderful time in Argentine and the Malbec was definitely a contributor to the good time I had. (raising my glass) To Malbec!"



Next week will be nothing but 09 Bordeaux! Huzzah!

Wine, And Drinking It

There is something to be said and admired for people that devote their entire life to tasting, pairing, viticulture, and anything else that has to do with wine in general. You get these amazingly knowledgeable people who can tell you everything down to the cell structure of the different varietals, or can tell you what year and vineyard a certain wine was made. To some this may look like an immense talent worthy of praise and idolization, but does this mean that they enjoy wine more than the average drinker?

One of the things about wine professionals and enthusiasts alike is, whether they choose to admit it or not, that taking this path of fascination with wine leads to snobbery (or as I so lovingly call them, Snooties). Now, their entire social/professional life may in fact revolve around wine, but this certainly does not equate into being able to enjoy something more or less than the average drinker. Sure, being able to dive into the intricacies and different flavors in a glass of wine is a wonderful experience that usually takes years to develop. But there are just as many people, if not more, that can take a bottle of the cheapest wine on the shelf and enjoy it like it was a 40 year old Bordeaux. Even more amusing is the fact that they won’t swirl it around in their glass, stick their nose to the bottom of the glass and sniff until the wine comes out their ears, or anything else along those lines. They will simply open the bottle, pour, and drink. While this may be throwing a great majority of my studies and fascination with wine aside, I think that is the enjoyment that we should all strive for. No ceremony, just enjoyment.

This past week I visited a local wine boutique and took part in a tasting of a California Vineyard. I will admit that the wines were over-oaked, and because of that I was not able to enjoy them as much as I would a “better made” wine. Then in the middle of the first glass I stopped myself and realized I was starting to think like 95% of all other wine professionals. out there. I have seen self-righteous Sommeliers have beautiful bottles of wine poured out, while by my standards I thought the wine was perfectly drinkable. With that in mind I stopped myself, looked at the wine again, smelled it, drank it, and focused solely on the positive qualities of the wine. The Chardonnay tasted like a slightly lemony buttery piece of toast, which by traditional standards means the wine is not of the best quality. Instead of dwelling on that, and realizing this will be the holy grail of all wines to some people, I went to pairing it to different food. So, it tastes like buttery toast, what goes well with that? French toast, sweeter foods, maybe a lemon piccatta chicken plate, etc... I did this for all 6 of the wines, and although I did not enjoy the wines immensely, I learned a lot more about wine in the practical sense in that hour than I have in months of schooling. So, what does this have to do with anything? By golly I will tell you.

No matter what your experience in life, there will be wines you come across that you don’t like. It’s a sad inevitability that you can either take stride, or be snooty about and throw a fit. There will always be wines that have no use at all and need to be laid to rest, but if you think hard enough you can make use of the more manageable ones without too much effort. Match the flavors with other foods, use them for cooking, “accidentally” spill them on Snooties clothing with a kind-hearted “My bad.” afterwards, or drink a lot of other things first so when you come back to this wine it tastes like heaven... or you are too far gone to care. In the end, when you have a glass of wine you can go about it a few ways. You can stand ceremony, swirl the wine, sniff it, roll it over your palate making silly noises, and with nose lifted high make a studied comment about it. There is also the halfway version of that, which shares a lot of the same steps, just without the nose lift. But, there is also the way that I have seen so many people take part in. This might be in bowls instead of cups, from the bottle passed among friends at a big party, with a mug of hot cocoa right next it, or with a silly straw that runs around your entire neck. It is a method that we should all strive for no matter our training, experience, opinions, or knowledge.

Open the bottle, pour, and drink.

Bordeaux, Part 2

Continuing on from last week... More grape varietals found in Bordeaux! Hooray!


Bordeaux Grape Varietals

Malbec -
Is pretty much only used for early drinking red wines such as Bourg and Blaye. It suffers particularly from coulure, and a lack of having anything interesting to say. Because of this, it’s importance is small and declining.

Petit Verdot -
Is all about the hot weather, and prefers trips to Palm Springs more than Laguna Beach. This picky little grape only ripens fully during very hot years, giving a very deep-colored, tannic wine that ages slowly. It never plays more than a minor role in a blend, where it is used to add tannin, color, some exotic spicy notes, and all around facetiousness and sass to great wines.

Semillon -
The most widely planted white variety in Bordeaux, and given its thin skin and alluring nature to noble rot (Let’s be honest, it dresses sluttier than Sauvignon Blanc), it is used for sweet wines. Combined, it gives wines a golden color and plenty of body. (See? A Slut.)

Sauvignon Blanc -
This lovely grape produces wines with distinctively vegetal, grass, and elderflower aromas. It tends to be a loner among the other Bordeaux varietals, but it’s originality that society needs to grasp on to more, right? When it is blended, it’s high acidity acts as a counterbalance to the potential flabbiness of the Semillon. (Even the sluttier ones have been known to let themselves go)

Muscadelle -
This variety has a very distinctive grapey Muscat flav...

Wait, wait, wait... A varietal that tastes like grapes?

Mind. Blown.

Bordeaux, Part 1

Bordeaux Grape Varietals

Seeing as there are around 14 different varietals accepted in the AC (Appellation d’Origine Controlee), we will just go through a few today.

Cabernet Sauvignon -
This grape is widely recognized as the classic black variety of Bordeaux. It accounts for three-quarters of the blend in the finest wines of Medoc, where it is mostly found strutting around with crisp new suits, and a superiority complex rivaling that of most wine snooties.

Ok, back to the Cabernet Sauvignon. This lovely grape accounts for no more than 29 percent of black grapes. It only gives moderate yields, but produces quality tannic wines with characteristic blackcurrant aroma when fully ripe. But, as most things come with a string attached, this grape is difficult to ripen and can produce very rough and vegetal wines which are only usable if combined with the “softer” Merlot.

Cabernet Franc -
Mainly grown in Saint-Emilion, and somewhat in Medoc and Graves. It gives bigger yields than the Cabernet Sauvignon, but has less body and finesse (Not much of a tennis player either). It’s flavors tend to stray into the herbaceous/stalky area.

Merlot -
Ok, this varietal has gotten a bad rap since a certain movie came out in the early 2000s. That movie pretty much personified what a wine snooty is, and managed to drag down the Merlot grape with it. Wine was designed to be consumed, not judged like a contestant on a “talent” providing TV show.

Annnnd breathe.

Merlots produces a medium yield of full-bodied, moderately tannic wines, which mature earlier than their seemingly male counterpart, the Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot adds a certain softness, richness, and body when added to the Cab. This grape is particularly important in Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, where it benefits from limestone soils, and helping its testosterone heavy counterparts talk about their feelings, and cuddling. On it’s own, it can tend to lack character unless it’s yields are low, and enjoys mixing with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon to provide more aromatic fruit, color, tannin, and the occasional gossip.


Wine Reccomendation

Marimar Estate's 2007 Acero Chardonnay $29

Winemaker's Notes: The signature aromas are the fragrant notes of Meyer lemon and tapioca pudding from the Rued clone, harmoniously combined with the classic, delicate flavors of Golden Delicious apple and white peach from the See clone. On the palate the wine is fresh and lively, full flavored but with a very dry finish that makes it an ideal companion to food.

Wine-Fitti Opinion: Marimar Estate is one of my favorite Californian vineyards, that I discovered during a trip to Sonoma County during the summer. In my opinion they have turned out nothing but consistent Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, and this bottle is no exception. It is a very well balanced and with a lightly oaked flavor that doesn't overpower the wine. You could easily pair this with lemon piccata, or any other lemon dish be it savory or sweet. For any lover of Chardonnays, I highly recommend this wine.