One of the highlights of attending En Primeur in Bordeaux this year for me had been the opportunity to taste the new vintage of prestigious, historic Chateau Cheval Blanc, famed for nearly two centuries for its unique terroir. It received the highest rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) status in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine of 1955 and is one of Bordeaux’s most respected wines today.

Birth of Cheval Des Andes

With its illustrious history and small production, Chateau Cheval Blanc was and still is accessible to only the privileged few. Yet eleven years ago, Pierre Lurton, then Director of Chateau Cheval Blanc, became intrigued by the renaissance of Malbec in Argentina and the prospect of establishing a New World presence that would represent the best of the Old and New World, and also produce greater quantities of quality wine at more affordable price points. When in 1999 he tasted 1970s Malbec wine from the Las Computeras vineyard (the finest parcel of Terrazas de los Andes, then also owned by Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) Cheval des Andes was born.

Today Pierre Lurton acts as Managing Director of Cheval des Andes in concert with Winemaker Nicholas Audebert. Recently, both Messrs Lurton and Audebert came to New York to introduce the fabulous 2006 vintage. Both gentlemen were absolutely passionate about their wine, which has received rave reviews and is notable for its ability to reflect its terroir.

Presentation of Cheval Des Andes 2006

Messrs. Audebert and Lurton presented the 2006 vintage in a structured tasting that began with the 1999 vintage (the first for the winery) and continued on to the yet unreleased 2008. The wines were uniform in color, yet varied in nose (depending on maturity and composition of varietals). Both gentlemen took turns discussing the vineyard, the climate, and other elements relating to vinification. As both a wine educator and student in the Master of Wine program, I relished the opportunity to get first hand information on the minute details that go into this quality wine. For example, even though the area is a warm growing region and sunny 360 days a year, vintage variation can be such that the winery did not produce a 2000 because the weather did not allow for the production of enough quality grapes.

The Vineyard

The vineyard lies on permeable clay, silt and shallow gravel soils that, due to their aridity, are extremely low in organic matter and also virtually immune to disease. Water from snow melt flowing from the Andes through an ancient system of canals built by the Incas washes minerals and nutrients into the soil, enhancing its complexity (yet the vineyard must still be irrigated). The difference between the high temperatures of day and cool temperatures of night creates phenolic complexity, a key element in quality wine.

The Blend

Blending the Malbec (from very old vines, which make for a very intense wine) and Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most important elements in the winemaking process. Each varietal is vinified separately, with the Cabernet Sauvignon aged in new French oak, and the Malbec aged in one year old barrels. The two men mentally plan what they would like the blend to express, and then begin the physical blend. “It is more of an art than perfume,” Mr. Audebert says, explaining that a perfume make has a recipe, and blending wine requires many different elements, senses, and a different kind of mental acuity.

“You make a great wine in the vineyard, not the winery,” Mr. Audebert says. “If you have great terroir you try to express that. Work in the winery is more like fine tuning. We don’t want to transform the wine too much.” For that reason, the winery uses manual pigeages (a gentle way of punching down), which allows a soft extraction, then it is matured for 18- 20 in French oak. At the end of the maturation period, the Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon are blended, undergo a fining process, and then are aged a year in bottle before the release.

Now the 2006 is composed of 60% Malbec, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and that small but essential 5% Merlot, the color (or ‘robe’ as they say in French) was dark purple and intense, with a small violet/fushia meniscus. For me, the nose had the usual blackcurrant associated with Cabernet Sauvignon, plus some cherry and fresh red fruit. A swirl reveals black pepper and rosemary. On the palate, the wine was silky and elegant, with smoke and tobacco even at this early maturity. Mr. Audebert tasted it and pronounced “silky and mature tannins that combines with elegant notes of smoke and tobacco. Unctuous, juicy, with a long and persistent finish. A wine that perfectly combines its young vivacity with the elegance of a mature structure.”

New World Wine in Old World Style

I liked the 2006 a lot … and for ‘wine geeks’ reading this, who are accustomed to tasting wine blind and having discussions about whether it is “New World” or “Old World” this wine is great to try for that reason. It is a New World wine that presents itself in a very Old World fashion, with restrained fruit yet the muscularity of the new world.

You can find it on Wine-Searcher. Cheers!

Rather daring, don’t you think, for a restaurateur to write a book titled Setting The Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business?

     Especially since no matter a restaurateur’s personal ideals and goals, he or she depend on chefs and servers to communicate these ideals to the guests. Not only must the restaurateur walk the talk, the staff must willingly do so as well.

     Danny Meyer has been in business over twenty years, growing his original Union Square Café into a brand (Union Square Hospitality Group) now including the celebrated Eleven Madison Park, The Modern, Grammercy Park, and many others. In his new book, Meyer attempts to chronicle his not-quite rags to riches story of how he succeeded in the restaurant business by listening to people and putting the customer first.

     Skeptical by nature and well-versed in the world of PR, I’d expected to read the typical froth about how the little things matter. And in print articles and interviews related to the book, I’ve read shaggy dog stories about how Meyer’s service-obsessed waiters jumped cabs to airports to return a forgotten purse to a diner, or scrambled to retrieve a chilling bottle of signature champagne from a patron’s refrigerator when he (isn’t it almost always a ‘he?’) forgot to bring it to the restaurant for an anniversary diner.

     Leery of tales of servers so heroic each seemed equipped with a knight’s armor and charging white horse, I wondered why Meyer would resort to such extremes when in the real world I’ve always found his service staff (at the Modern, Union Square, Gramercy Park, and Eleven Madison Park) always sincerely friendly, well-trained, and extra-ordinarily well-versed in wine. And requests for sauces on the side and other When Harry Met Sally-style deviations have always been delivered exactly as ordered.

     Then, without design, Meyer’s message was put to the test when a friend entertaining important business clients and myself at the Modern (the pricey dining room, not the bar room) discovered after the first of many already ordered courses that his parties’ theater tickets for the sold-out hit musical Jersey Boys was for 7:00 PM, not 8:00 PM.

     Despite the fact it was a busy Thursday night (in Manhattan, the busiest night of the week) with every table booked, arrangements were made for us to return to our wines and already-fired courses following the performance.

     Now given Meyer’s proclaimed customer-first heroics, you may be wondering: Did Danny Meyer send a long stretch limo to take you all to the theater (about six blocks away) in the pouring rain? Did he send a bottle of Dom Perignon to enjoy during Intermission? (no)

     This experience occurred a few months before I read the book, but the incident did reinforce the fact that Meyer has very successfully articulated his message to his staff, and they internalized it quite well. Not because they “had” to (otherwise I’d sense it in their attitude), but apparently because they admired Meyer’s leadership enough to believe in his message and his mission.

     Instead of hubris, Meyer never shies away from admitting his own mistakes as a young restaurateur in his book. He gives a no-holds-barred account of his struggles and successes, both on a personal and professional level. Quite a bit of raw personal emotion in what is touted as a business leadership book, and this is exactly the ingredient that keeps it more real and gripping than the recycled, canned information you find in most books on customer service.

     Meyer is also generous in crediting his mentors, especially Robert Chadderdon, an importer of French wines, in both his marketing and wine list education. Though Meyer grew up in a self-described ‘euro-centric’ household and developed an early interest in wine and food, nothing in his background could prepare him for the territory he was to conquer in NYC circa 1985, a time when Union Square Park was not the leafy, clean, upscale place to buy farm fresh produce it is today, and the park outside what is now the exclusive Eleven Madison Park was rundown and ignored.

     As economic conditions in NYC improved and created a growing audience for his restaurants, Meyer’s growing fleet of restaurants gained in popularity and his focus on customer service deepened. Meyer admits he was afraid of instilling a “Stepford Wives” type approach to hospitality in his staff, similar to the repetitive “bye-bye” chirp of seemingly robotic flight attendants as passengers depart a plane. Instead, he empowered his servers to give great service by letting their personalities shine through in terms of their approach to guests.

     Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School, has written: “Danny Meyer’s marvelous book is not about restaurants, but about how to really learn a business and create a distinctive strategy,” and this is true. If your objective is to please customers, and train staff so that they like you, respect you, and are comfortable following your formula, this is the book for you.

     This is also a “must read” book if you’re interested about how to open a restaurant. Yet perhaps, above and beyond anything else, it is a book that warns you to pick your advisers carefully.

     Meyer writes that in the early 2000s he was driving past what would be the glamorous Time Warner Center, with its Mandarin Oriental hotel, CNN studios, luxury apartments, shops, and five-star restaurants wit his then eight-year-old daughter, Hallie. At the time, it was just a dug-out hole, but Meyer painted the picture of what it would one day be and asked: “What would you think if Daddy opened a restaurant there?”

     Hallie burst into tears and said, “I never want you to have a restaurant where people are going there for some other reason than to go to your restaurant. People go to your restaurants because they want to be at your restaurant.”

     Well said, Hallie. If nothing else, Danny Meyer, sounds like you really do pick your advisors well.

Yet what sort of Pinot Noir? And if from the old world, could it be a Loire instead of Pinot Noir’s traditional home of Burgundy?

And if Burgundy, what appellation?

If you’ve been to Burgundy or have studied the region, you know that practically every square inch has a different terroir. 

In the end, we were surprised to find it was 2007 Domaine Billard Bourgogne Millane. And in the very small wine world, we realized that we had met the sisters that produce this wine in Burgundy in March, when importer Jeanne Marie De Champs, founder of Domaines Et Saveurs Collection, invited us to diner (pictures from the dinner are above) to meet Mireille Desmonet, one of the owners of this domaine with her enologist sister Laurence Jobard, and other producers.

Though the sisters make a concentrated wine in Pomard from the "Les Vaumuriens" lieu-dit, this is a ‘simple’ Bourgogne Rouge given surprising elegance and complexity as it is from 45 year old vines in a 1/2 hectare parcel in Pommard called "Milliane.”

As I nosed the wine in the course of the blind tasting, I was initially struck by the intense sense of soil in addition to the fragrant cherry fruit, with wafts of black licorice and dark fruit notes. The palate was very smooth with concentrated fruit, cherry yet with dark notes that mentally formed an image of black dots of concentrated fennel in addition to other fruit flavors such as raspberry. The finish was very long and succulent.  The price is in the $20 range but tasted much higher endl; and you can use the wine-searcher tool to find it in your area.

Of course, this sort of Sherlock Holmes antics is familiar to students in the Master of Wine program. Typically I ask wine retailers that wine be sent to me blind (i.e. wrapped in a bag so I can’t see the year or variety), at different price points, so I may puzzle it out.

For a summer picnic, my friend and I tasted these two wines, having no idea they shared a grape in common. Though we correctly guessed the vintages 08 and 09, and the fact both were old world (by virtue of the subdued fruit, high mineral content) they felt like they could be a number of high acid, cool climate whites.
On first sniff, it could well have been a Vernaccia or Verdicchio from Italy.

Because of the extreme minerality of both the wines, Sauvignon Blanc does not leap to mind the way it would from a New Zealand SB.

And finally, because it was actually an accident they were being drunk together (sometimes I alert the wine store clerk to send me wines to taste in pairs) at the time of the tasting I had no idea they shared a varietal.

In the end, the key differences between the wines is this: the Sancerre, grown on a specific plot of limestone hills facing the Eastern sun, gives a very chalky limestone wine, with very faint fruit and marked minerality and acidity. Now the Graves was also quite mineral (remember the Graves soil is stony pebbles) yet one could detect a faint amount of white grapefruit. Also, because this Graves was a blend of Muscadelle and Semillon, it was slightly fatter, less lean than the Sancerre.

Both were delicious and from my favorite importers, Kermit Lynch (Graves) and Louis Dressner (Sancerre).

2008 Sancerre La Garenne

Very tight, almost full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc with intense limestone-chalk-mineral palate and long, satisfying stony finish.

2009 Chateau Giraud-Lacoste

Delicate and slightly floral, this is a well structured, mineral-rich wine with a hint of bitter grapefruit on the finish.

… So I just had a fabulous lunch at Avra in NYC with Nicholas Miller, whose family owns the Bien Nacido brand (Pinot Noir and Syrah) and Solomon Hills brand (Chardonnay) in Santa Maria, California. “Bien Nacido means ‘born with a silver spoon' – or some such in Spanish,” says Nicholas. As the scion of a family whose vineyard fruit is sourced to such legendary companies as Au Bon Climat, Bonny Doon and other stellar companies, Nicholas has every right to act that role, yet in person he is earnest and hard working.

I am here to taste the Bien Nacido brand of Pinot Noir and Syrah, as well as their new 2008 Solomon Hills Chardonnay. All three are excellent, and are indeed “showpiece” wines that represent the family’s top choice plot in the appellation (bought in 1973) and their commitment to quality. “I’ve very particular about Syrah,” says Nicholas, as we launch into a discussion of “cool climate” and “warm climate” Syrah and why both the Bien Nacido red wines are lower in alcohol than many of their West Coast cousins (Santa Maria is one of the cooler regions in the entire state).

The total production is under 500 cases, with the brands getting rave reviews on Internet sites such as WineBerserkers yet really available only in top restaurants or through the winery’s web site. In the end, Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills are the flagship for the family’s excellent vineyards and custom crushing facility.

I learned a great deal about the family’s vineyard holdings in Santa Maria during the lunch, which sounded like a spectacular AVA with early morning fog “trapped” by two mountains on either side, which serve to cool the grapes until mid-afternoon, when that brief interlude of sunshine helps them ripen slowly and evenly.

The crowd on the WineBerserkes forum went wild for the Chardonnay, yet I found both the Syrah and Pinot Noir spectacular!

Salute!

Quick! When you think 'Carneros' what varietal comes to mind?

The appellation was officially created in 1983, as its cool climate is excellent for creating Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with a Burgundian tone of delicacy and finesse.

Recently I've tried the 2009 Saintsbury Pinot Noir which is dark purple with a bit of violet in terms of color, and on the nose, med + intensity, with an aroma of ripe sweet berries, black and red, purpe flowers, and no overt wood. On the palate, the wine is dry, acid is med, tannin is med with a finish of black pepper, spice, berries.

Overall this wine is exceptionally elegant and well balanced, its long finish showing quality, with good intensity of fruit, and good complexity of flavor to pair with salmon or pork.

Now the Chardonnay is also extremely well balanced, a deep straw in color with a rich nose that hints of ripe apples, and the complexity of flavor that develops with stirring of the lees (the dead yeast cells that add richness and body), and maturation in a percentage of newer French oak. An excellent choice with white fish, and can stand up to chicken or fish with a more substantial sauce.

On the Saintsbury website I read that Saintsbury's founders Dick Ward and Dave Graves came to wine with scientific background, Dave with a degree in biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and Dick with a degree in structural engineering from Tufts University in Boston. They met in 1977 while attending graduate classes in Enology at U.C. Davis. With the release of Saintsbury’s first 2000 cases of Pinot Noir in 1981 and by committing to pursuing high quality California Pinot Noir, the founders put themselves in the forefront of a movement that would eventually catapult California wines, Carneros Pinot Noir and Saintsbury onto the world wine stage.

... so recently I received three wines from V. Sattui Winery, a family owned winery dedicated to making handcrafted wines in small lots. As is the current trend, the wines are only sold at the winery or direct shipped. This is a practice that makes sense in our competitive market, and rather smart for the winery which farms 230 acres of estate vineyards throughout the North Coast, primarily in Napa Valley and produces 43 wines.

My favorite was the 2007 Vittorio's vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Usually I taste blind, and now I'm sorry that I didn't because the sense of Napa terroir is so strong here it could have been an easy win. It was fermented in stainless steel and aged in barrel (half new French oak, half seasoned French oak). Very good quality, 931 cases. Typical aromas of cocoa and dusty earth with raspberry and sweet oak.

I also liked the 2008 Pinot Noir, which was sourced from the Henry Ranch in Carneros. It was fermented in stainless steel and aged for 10 months in barrel (50% New French Oak). Very concentrated fruit. The 2008 White Riesling was aromatic and well balanced, fermented slowly at low temperatures. It was named "Best Riesling in California" for the past two years, as well as winning two gold medals - California State Fair / Best of Appellation, Winemaker Challenge.

Brooks Painter had many positions at prestigious wineries in the past, and is a member/past President of the Napa Valley Wine Club Technical Group.  If you go to the winery's web site, you can see it's a gorgeous place where guests can picnic on their lawns underneath 200 year old trees. You can also buy delicious items at the winery's in-house Italian Marketplace as they have their own in-house chef, Gerardo Sainato.

I hope to visit around the harvest, so maybe I will see you there.

Crave an exotic island rarely seen by American eyes? My first venture to the Greek island of Santorini revealed neat white houses up the sort of steep hill that later earns pedestrians of either sex complimentary shout-outs about their well-exercised calf muscles.

The trip also introduced the magic of the Santorini Vines. Unlike a vineyard you might have seen in Napa or France, that long-ago winter the vines were coiled up like gnarled, sage snakes, waiting to strike at the first sign of spring. And indeed, the vines are grown in the “kouloura” method which means they are woven into continuous circles to form a basket for protection from the strong winds and harsh summer sun. After many years of training the nutrients must pass through several meters of vine to finally reach the grapes, adding complexity. Santorini has the oldest vines in the world, with volcanic soil that adds a mineral component to the wines.

And indeed, Santorini had to wait a decade or more to produce the wines that are now so proudly sold in many top wine shops around America. New York recently has had many wines, and right now I am enjoying an Estate Argyros 2009 “Santorini.” It has a light and delicate nose of lemon blossom, and more citrus and minerals on the palate, along with the kind of elegant yet substantial body that would make it a perfect pairing with grilled white fish.

The Assyrtiko Grape

Assyrtiko or Asyrtiko is a white Greek wine grape indigenous to the island of Santorini. Assyrtiko is widely planted in the arid volcanic-ash-rich soil of Santorini and other Aegean islands, such as Paros. It is also found on other scattered regions of Greece such as Chalkidiki.

Estate Argyros

Established in 1904 and now run by the founders’ grandson,  Estate Argyros is a leading producer and I find its Estate Argyros 2009 delicious and an absolutely perfect pairing with white fish with its lemon blossom scent and lively acidity. 

Hatzidakis

Hatzidakis is another producer and their 2008 Santorini Assyrtikois lovely. Winemaker and oenologist Haridimos Hatzidakis, was lucky enough to work in large Greek wine industries before finally settling in Santorini and renovated an old 'canava', near Pyrgos village. The wine is rich in minerals, and may be technically dry (under nine grams RS per liter) yet has a certain sweet lift, perhaps from oak interaction Its a quite different, fuller bodied expression of the Assyrtiko grape.

Thalassiltis

Gaia -- another Santorina based producer - takes its name from the fact that In Greek Antiquity, mixing wine with sea water was a very well-known practice applied to give wine therapeutic properties. The wine resulting from this process was called “Thalassitis inos” (Sea – originated Wine). Of course, the Thalassitis wine I am enjoying was not mixed with sea water and is simply named for its close proximity to the sea!

Thalassitis is yet another classic example of of Assyrtiko: that delicious and delicate lemon blossom and citrus quality on the nose, with a strong mineral component and refreshing dry finish. i

These are all excellent wines to enjoy as we experience summer with all is opportunities to pair Assyrtiko with white fish or whatever your favorite pairing may be.

Do you like Greek wines? I do … they come in a variety of styles and price points and pair well with a wide variety of food. Typically they are also a very good value for the money, especially when it comes to reserve wines where you can still get a 1997 red with full development for just over $20.

Today I attended a press lunch for Tsantali Wines at Thalassa Restaurant in New York, with one of my favorite sommeliers, Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn leading the tasting during lunch, in which two and sometimes even three wines were paired with the various dishes that began with delicious scallops wrapped in Katalfi paired with Kanenas 09 (Muscat of Alexandria – Chardonnay) and Metochi Chromitsa 09 (Assyrtiko – Sauvignon Blanc) and continued with fish paired with Red Kanenas 06 (Mavroudi-Syrah) and Rapsani 2006 (Xinomavro, Krassato, and Stavroto) and then lamb paired with Naousa Reserve 1997 (Xinomavro, Metochi Chromitsa X 05 (Xinomavro, Limnio, Cabernet Sauvignon) and more …

A fabulous opportunity to pair Greek wines with Greek and non-Greek foods, and a wonderful memorable lecture by Roger Dagorn.

P.S.

In addition to the excellent wines, shocked at how good the food was. I had never dined at Thalassa restaurant and was really amazed by the quality of the food. The shrimp were so large – I had never seen their size before!