Picking the Bones of Previous Vintages

Presented in the order in which they were tasted —

1982 Grand Cru Vineyards, Collector’s Reserve, Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon:

Perfectly fine, smooth, with plenty of simple cherry fruit. It lasted, but it didn’t seem to gain anything with age, and from here it will be all down hill.

1982 Quail Ridge, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon:

This wine, made by Leon Santero, was really very good, having gained some interesting mushroom and coffee notes with age, while retaining a core of rich blackberry fruit. It did, however, fade in the bottle with an hour of air time.

1987 Chateau Souverain, Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon:

I remember the ’87 vintage being quite good when released, but it’s now, sadly, over-the-hill, showing a sour edge of volatile acidity.

1993 Saratoga Vineyards, Santa Clara County Merlot:

Wow! This Merlot from the Santa Cruz Mountains is a perfect example of why we age wine. Though from a ho-hum vintage, this Merlot was balanced, layered, and complex, with a core of cassis, surrounded by earth, subtle oak notes, and a layer of truffles. It still has firm structure, but the tannins are mellow. Great now, with plenty of life left.

1994 Hanna, Alexander Valley Merlot:

From a good vintage, this was decent, though a bit tart and not particularly complex when it was opened. It went off fairly rapidly once the bottle was open.

1995 Boeger, El Dorado, Estate Zinfandel:

Boeger always makes sound wines that taste good from the get go, and they also age well. This ’95 Zin is no exception. It has good depth of raspberry-blueberry fruit with a spicy background that lingers on the palate. The tannin is soft, the structure classic, and the alcohol modest. Fine now, it will hold for many more years.

New Releases from Alto-Adige, March 2010

March, 2010:
More than a dozen wineries from Alto-Adige came to San Francisco in March to show off their new releases (see Susanna Gaertner’s article on www.epicurean-traveler.com for more details). I have just two general observations:
1. Despite the homogenization of wine styles and obliteration of a sense of terroir due the globalization of wine culture, there are a few places that continue to produce wines that truly and emphatically define their place of origin. Alto-Adige is one, and I should also give a nod here to the wines of Alsace and Germany. They all have something in common. Most of these wines are white. They rarely see oak, and if they do it is on a minimal level. They are also grown in areas where it is difficult to get the grapes overripe. Neither winemaking nor viticultural manipulation are allowed to interfere, and the resulting wines are pure expressions of terroir.
2. Despite the phenomenal quality of Alto-Adige wines, they are unfortunately rather expensive in the U.S. So if you really want to enjoy the wines of Alto-Adige, I recommend a visit to what may be the most beautiful wine country in all of the world (see my article on wine touring in Alto-Adige on www.epicurean-traveler.com).

Susanna is more eloquent than I in her notes on the tasting. Nonetheless, here are my impressions of some of the standouts from the recent tasting in San Francisco:

CANTINA SAN MICHELE APPIANO
St. Valentin
2008 Sauvignon:
Year after year my favorite Sauvignon Blanc, this vintage is a bit rounder and fuller than previous offerings, but with the same aromatic gooseberry and lime, dried herbs, and crisp acidity. $45
94 points.

St. Valentin
2007 Gewürztraminer:
A dry Gewürz with notes of litchi and yellow roses, crisp acidity and lovely balance. $45
92 points

2008 Pinot Grigio:
Crisp apples, a hint of rose petal, lovely balance — crisp yet silky, with a long finish. $18
90 points.

2007 Pinot Nero:
Lean and dry and yet fruity (cherry-cranberry), with complex mineral/earth undertones, great vibrancy and length. $20
93 points

2005 Lagrein:
Explosive nose of blackberry-cherry with underlying earth and minerality. It follows through to the palate with soft tannins, good structure and long finish. $20.
92 points.

TIEFENBRUNNER
2008 Chardonnay:
An elegant Chardonnay with no oak or malolactic character, just ripe apples and a hint of citrus. $15
88 points

2008 Kirchleiten, Sauvignon:
Crisp and intensely fruity with apple and tangerine flavors, dry and vibrant on the mid-palate, with fruit and mineral overtones through the long finish. $30
91 points

ABBAZIA DI NOVACELLA
2005 Praepositus Riserva Pinot Nero:
A hint of forest floor-mushroom under cherry aromas, lots of minerality, with a lovely aromatic finish of great length. Very elegant, if understated, but also a bit pricey. $60
91 points

TERLAN
2006 Vorberg Pinot Bianco:
Yellow apples and citrus with leesy-yeasty undertones, crisp, lean, dry and minerally. Very fine balance. $28
88 points

COLTERENZIO
2008 Lafoa Sauvignon:
Emphatic varietal character with crisp grapefruit, dried thyme and cat piss, vibrant on the mid-palate, intense through the finish. 15% barrel fermentation gives it a round feel. Nice but very expensive. $62
93 points

2007 Formigar Chardonnay:
This barrel fermented Chardonnay displays aromatic apple with a vanilla edge, very good balance and powerful finish. If you’re going to use oak, this is the way to do it. $58
89 points

2007 Cornell, Sigis Mundus Lagrein:
Dense blackberry-cherry, good acidity, noticeable but moderate tannin, elegant, understated, with good minerality through the long, long finish. Pricey. $64
90 points.

ALOIS LAGEDER
2008 Pinot Bianco Haberle:
Aromatic nose of golden apples with a floral edge, crisp acidity, silky texture, nicely balanced, with a light mineral character through the finish. Very elegant. $20
89 points

CANTINA BOLZANO
2008 Lagrein Perl:
Beautifully balanced, offering up complex aromas of sweet ripe Boysenberrys and blueberries that follow through to the palate with good acidity, soft tannins and minerality through the long finish. $24
92 points

H. LUN WINERY
2006 Bianco Sandbichler Cuvée:
A blend of 60% Pinot Bianco, 30% Chardonnay, 10% Riesling. Very complex and layered, serving up bright notes of tangerine, peach and apple. Beautfiully balanced, long and intense. $24
92 points

TRAMIN WINERY
2009 Chardonnay:
A straightforward non-oaked Chardonnay with vibrant apple character and fine balance. A real bargain at $14.
88 points

2009 Pinot Grigio:
Ripe apples with a hint of flowers, dry, balanced and exceedingly long. $15.
90 points

2008 Pinot Grigio Unterebner:
Medium-full bodied for a Pinot Grigio, with complex minerality and apple-citrus flavors. Excellent length, though a bit warm. $31.
90 points

Main Street Winery

There seems to be no shortage of good wine at the $10 price point (see my blog on Tempra Tantrum wines from Spain), but most of it is forgettable. With the introduction of the Main Street Winery label, sourced from premium growing areas around the state, the Trinchero family (Sutter Home, etc.) has set out to produce wines at $10 that offer a bit more than the usual over-ripe, low acid fruit bombs that are standard fare today. Here is the current lineup:

2008 Monterey County Sauvignon Blanc:
This is one terrific SB, full bodied yet tart, with citrus and gooseberry flavors, a bit of classic “cat piss” (if you have to ask, ignore the descriptor), subtle dried herbs and a long lemony finish with a mineral edge. Fine aromatics and balance. 92 points.

2008, Santa Barbara County (82%) / Monterey County (18%) Chardonnay:
Buttery, with appley fruit and a hint of caramel, velvety texture, full bodied, yet with pleasant acidity and a hint of mineral character. I’m astonished at the price of this wine, which delivers so much more than you’d expect at the price. Best served slightly chilled. 89 points.

2006, 54% Lake County, 24% Monterey County, 22% Santa Barbara County, Cabernet Sauvignon:
The dominant flavor of this light to medium-bodied Cab is black cherry, the oak is subtle, the tannins moderate, and there is a mineral edge to the finish. Pleasant enough, though the least varietally distinct of the Main Street line; it might be mistaken for a Merlot. 83 points

2006, 80% Monterey County, 8% Santa Barbara County, 7% Napa County, 5% Lake County, Merlot:
A lovely Merlot with aromatic black cherry fruit, faint notes of black pepper and vanilla, soft tannins, and classic structure. Dry, with some delicacy, this is a fine antidote to the port-like fruit bombs currently passed off as Merlot. 87 points.

2008, 97% Napa Valley, 3% Monterey County, Pinot Noir:
Dry, with forward scents of sandalwood and cherry. Lean and dry on the palate, with slight astringency and strawberry-cherry flavors. 84 points.

More Notes from the Cellar

I've been on a Merlot kick for a month, as I work my way through some of my older wines that need drinking. I started with the cheap wines, with the prejudice that inexpensive wines are made to be drunk the minute they're bought, their tannins are generally mild and they don't age well. As I've been discovering over the past year, some of these cheapies can age very well. This past week I had a surprisingly good 1993 M.G. Vallejo that probably retailed for around $7 at the time, and an opulent 1993 Glen Ellen with a California appellation that retailed for $5.00 at the time. The latter, lush and velvety, with cherry-berry flavor and fine balance, was one of the best Merlots I've ever tasted, regardless of price. Incidentally, the alcohol was just over 12%. One wonders if the big bruisers of today will stand the test of time, or become hot and unbalanced as the fruit dries up.

Tempra Tantrum

Rocio Osborne visited San Francisco recently to roll out her new line of screw-top wines, called Tempra Tantrum, from Malpica in the Tierra de Castilla region of Spain, an hour southwest of Madrid. The name evokes the kind of market-driven wine, like Yellow Tail, that is fresh, fruity, unpretentious, uncomplicated and affordable. As Rocio was telling me, her friends (all in their late 20’s, early 30’s) are mostly beer drinkers, and these wines are designed to appeal to this crowd in a way that an aged Rioja might not. Even for those of us who may appreciate an aged Rioja on a special occasion, at $10 a bottle the Tempra Tantrum wines serve admirably as everyday wines to enjoy with dinner. I should mention that all of these wines are well balanced table wines under 14% alcohol, so you can actually enjoy a few glasses from aperitif to postprandial quaff.

The "Tempra" of Tempra Tantrum refers to Tempranillo, as each of the four wines is a 60/40 blend of Tempranillo and either Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz or Grenache. Though Tempranillo constitutes 60% of the blends, it serves as a neutral background upon which the supporting grapes leave their mark. There is no oak aging to complicate matters; the flavors of the different grape varieties shine through. Cabernet, with its strong cassis character, provides the flavor profile for the Tempranillo/Cabernet; the Tempranillo/Merlot displays lush cherry-berry fruit; the Tempranillo/Shiraz is dry and slightly peppery; and the Tempranillo/Grenache serves up the plum-like flavor of Grenache in the forefront, coupled with cherry-cranberry background notes from the Tempranillo.

I enjoyed them all. It’s a welcome change to find new wines that are balanced and affordable, and it will be interesting to see if Spain can mount a serious challenge to Australia and Chile.