This week I had the opportunity to try some excellent new wines from Xavier Flouret!

Xavier Flouret 2009 Flaca Torrentes

Style note: Elegant wine with subtle floral nose, intense minerality, and a palate that offers concetrated yet subtle ripe peach/apricot backed with firm minerality and a long finish. Perfect with fish or chicken.

Xavier Flouret 2007 La Pilar Malbec

Style note: Aromas of bright black fruit, earth, and cool menthol leads to smooth black fruit (not too ripe) on the palate, with the beginnings of complex flavors such as black licorice and sweet anise. Somewhere between the ripe juiciness of the new world and restraint and minerality of the world. A great pairing with many dishes, especially duck with cherries.

Xavier Flouret 2010 Nationale 7

Style: With is pale baby rose color, this looks the perfect wine to sip with on your yacht in St. Tropez ... dry with racy acidity, minerality, and a hint of tangerine spritz, this is a refreshing wine with salads and fish.
 

J. Lohr is a California producer of many different varietals, and increasingly, many different vineyards. I had the good fortune recently to receive a case of 2008 wines and must say all are of exceptional quality for the price. 

If I had to choose my two favorites, they would be the Chardonnay and the 2007 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon. These are incredibly well crafted wines. Below are notes on all the wines.

J. Lohr 2008 Merlot from Paso Robles:

This is an easy drinking style of wine that would pair perfectly with grilled salmon or pork, with very cleanly defined black fruit and bright elements of spearmint. Very well balanced and nearly naked in the sense the fruit is not overwhelmed by oak. Paso Robles has extreme temperature variations between night and day, responsible for the intense concentration of fruit here, and gravel well draining soils.

J. Lohr 2008 chardonnay Arroyo Vista

This is a delicious, traditional style chard with body, tropical fruit, and a long lingering finish - very rich and balanced and a good accompaniement to white fish, salads, and other fare.

J. Lohr 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles

Clean, balanced Cabernet Sauvignon with pure back fruit (blackberries)  ... a touch of sweetness makes it a good pairing for dishes such as pork, especially with a fruit marinade or sauce, roasted salmon with same, or brisket.

J. Lohr 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Vineyards

Blackberries, concentrated black fruit such as casis black plum blackberies ... very clean and even, very concentrated fruit from select vineyard and excellent example of incredible terroir and winemaking.

J. Lohr 2008 Petite Syrah

this is a classic California Petite Syrah with intense concentrated black and blue fruit, very smooth tannins, and a delightful way to accompany pork and braised short ribs.

Kanonkop Abrie Beeslaar

One of the advantages of living in the new millennium - for wine students, at any rate, is the opportunity to compare tasting notes on the Internet and even connect with winemakers. Recently I tasted 2007 Kanonkop Pinotage with an eye on how I would know it was a 2007 South African Pinotage if I had to identify it blind.

In other words, what would be the "markers" that would suggest this particular varietal?

To find out (and share this information with you) I contacted Abrie Beeslaar, winemaker at Kanonkop, who recently won a trio of prestigious awards (the last one from the International Wine and Spirit Competition Limited).

Q: Abrie, by tasting the wine "blind" what do you feel are the signatures of Pinotage in general, and your wine specifically?

A: Kanonkop Pinotage normally have more dark fruit like plum and blackcurrant, but in lighter vintages like 2007 you get more red fruit like strawberry which is more common for Pinotage. Pinotage got great colour, so it is very seldom that you find light coloured Pinotages. The structure of Pinotage is different from Cabernet Sauvignon, because it does not have the same amount of tannins. It reminds more of a Rhone blend.

Some wineries got a lot of banana on the nose, which can be influenced by the fermentation temp. or the yeast culture used. The history of Pinotage you can get on there website, but it is a grape variety and not a blend.

Q: In your mind, what makes this wine, tasted blind, distinctively different from S. Africa intead of California where I believe it is being grown. Please describe your climate and if Pinotage grapes grow better on hillsides. Are some blocks of a winery's estate better suited to Pinotage then, say, Cabernet? Are extracted fruit and high alcohol signatures of all Pinotage wines regardless of origins?

A: The fruit concentration, velvety tannins, and lingering aftertaste, and the potential of being powerful with elegance is something have not seen in Pinotage from other countries. South Africa got a warm climate and in the Western Cape where most grapes are grown, the climate is almost Mediterranean. I think most vineyards grow better on the hillsides, and the potential of the soil will partially determine what variety we will plant there. High extract and high alcohol can be affected by the winemaker, and unlike Califronia, we are not allowed to add water to our wines. I also think the higher extract and higher alcohols is something that promoted by people like Mr. Parker. The vintage variation is less on Kanonkop because we have low yields and older vineyards. The variation in vintages is felt more with varieties like Sauvignon Blanc.
 
Q: How important is being below a mountain to the grape (as in the case with Kanonkop). Does the mountain act as a windshield? Does it by default let minerals from the mountain flow down to the flat land?

A:We are actually on the foothills of the Simonsberg Mountain. The majority of the soils on the farm is decomposed granite, that originate from the mountain. The slopes give us also good drainage and different aspects. You also get air movement from the mountain, which makes us cooler than the surrounding areas.

Q: Can you explain how irrigation - or lack of it - affects the wine? I would imagine this would be the major component of rich vs. thin wine in a rainy growing season.

A: We do supplementary irrigation when it is very dry. This will help the plant through the tough times, and prevent the berries from shrivelling.

Q: Is your wine's concentration due primarily to the age of the vines? In a blind tasting, would you say that most quality producers use old vines and I can count on this concentration as a guide to quality?

A: Old vines add a lot to concentration, but it is not the determining factor. You can also get very good concentration with 15 year old vines.

Q: What is your soil type? I've read that poor coarse sandy soil with little water retention produced fruity wines with limited complexity. Yet to me, all Pinotages are "fruity." Can you explain the flavor profile specifically?

A: We have decomposed granite soils, and they will normally give you darker fruit. Sandy soils with higher irrigation will give you wines with more red berries and which is lighter in structure.  (the real influences is much more than just the soils)

Q: I've read hillsides produce the best vines ...

A: Most of our Pinotage is on the hill, varying from 200m to 320m above sea level.

Q: Any hints of what to look for in your wine when blind tasting, especially the banana, would be helpful.

A: Our wines have dark fruit like plum, blackcurrant, cinnamon, fruit cake, coffee, mocca.

From Marisa: Thank you so much Abrie for being so generous with your time and educating fans of your wines.

As a wine educator, one of the most pleasurable aspects of my profession is choosing a theme for a class and introducing students to exciting wines or wine regions I have discovered. And here in Manhattan, this is a special challenge, because in this jaded city most everyone dabbling in the world of wine has tasted pretty much everything the world has to offer.

So I first decided on a theme of Aromatic white wines, and decided that this class should be called “Discovering the ABCs of Wine.” Now in this context, the word “ABC” can mean “introduction to wine” – which is also an intention of the class. Many people have enjoyed wine for decades without really understanding how to analyze wine and appreciate the opportunity to formally learn this skill. Yet for me, ABC also means “Anything But Chardonnay.”

Now there is nothing wrong with Chardonnay. It is an international variety produced almost everywhere on the planet. It can grow in warm and cool climates. It can smell and taste like hot buttered popcorn, apple pie a la mode, or like mineral water with a squeeze of lime or lemon. And the reason it has so many expressions is because for the most part it is a neutral grape, with its expression and style coming from the choice of vinification.

Now for this tasting I chose three aromatic white varietals considered very unusual and hard to find. The first was a 2007 Domaine de Cezin, a wine made from the Chenin Blanc grape that grows in a tiny AOC region called Jasnieres in Touraine in the Loire Valley (France). What’s interesting about this appellation is that it was created in 1938, about a half century before the ‘frenzy’ AOCs are today. Almost every day, it seems, a new AOC is granted.

Given this 1938 AOC designation, one has to ask what is so special about this wine that it was distinguished from all the other regions in the Loire? First of all, Jasnieres is a tiny appellation … just 128 hectares under vine and a dozen producers making a living off their wine. The wine is named after the “terroir” so Domaine de Cezin is the name of the plot, now owned by the Fresneau family since 1952. In doing research on this wine, I saw many family photographs dating even earlier than 1952 – it is very much a family operation. This was likely the case in the Middle Ages, when wine from Jasnieres was drunk and celebrated by Kings (possibly, I’m assuming, with oysters from the mouth of the Loire). If you know Chenin Blanc, you know that it can be dry, sweet, or off-dry, depending on the mood of the producer and the vintage. In good vintages, Chenin Blanc is almost always sweet. This 2007 vintage borders that difficult area between dry and sweet … technically, I believe it must be under 9 grams of residual sugar to be considered “dry” yet sometimes searing acidity can make a technically off-dry wine taste dry by contrast.

In any event, when you taste this wine (a class favorite) you will find very high acidity that is a perfect match with seafood, good mouthfeel, racy acidity, minerals, and notes of lemon and citrus. The soil here is called “tuff” and is made of soft chalk, decomposing clay, with flint – very difficult to work. Vineyards face the south for sunshine and protection from the north winds. The forest of Berce also helps te vines resist the wind. On the web I read that some visiting journalists stopped by for tasting and M. Fresneau revealed that he recently tried a wine from the turn of the century left on the property from previous owners – and that it was still fresh and lively. I can believe this given the soil, acidity, and fifty year old vines.

Now the next wine ws Vin de Savoie Apremont Les Rocailles. I loved this wine in the 2007 vintage (no longer available). I first experienced it in a blind tasting, and with its delicate white and gold flowers, seemed possibly a Muscat. Actually, the grape is the Jacquere and it ONLY grows in the Savoie area of France, which is between the Italian and Swiss Alps. Unlike the Chenin Blanc from the Loire, this wine is meant to “drink now.” The 2008 had less flowers, and more minerals and fruit, which seems mostly citrus (tangerine, orange pith) with some minor CO2. The producer is now Pierre Boniface, who inherited the vineyard from his father when it was twenty hectares producing only this varietal. Now, I read that Mr. Boniface also makes red wines, has increased his hectares, and has succeeded in conquering the export market. In conducting research for the tasting, I see that a handful of blogger/tasters have written notes on this wine, with their readers so excited about it they are demanding to know where they can buy it. If you are reading this outside NYC, you might check out the web site for Hand Picked Selections, its importer.

The last wine in the tasting was the 2007 Finca y Bodega Carlos Pulenta Torrentes Tomero Valley de Cafatyate, which is a favorite among the ladies who lunch crowd. People – mostly women – who rarely drink love this wine because of its intense floral nose. It is like being at a bridal shower in terms of that light, white floral aroma. The grape is indigenous to Argentina (Salta) where it is sunny 360 days a year. Irrigation is mandatory. Despite the sun, the wine keeps its acidity because despite the warm days the nights are cool. The Torino brothers started the winery in 1898, twenty years after the Cafayate Valley became confirmed as a quality wine producing region.

So there you have it. Three very interesting white wines, none of them a Chardonnay!

Please try these wines and use the comment feature to share your thoughts.
 

As a wine educator, one of the most pleasurable aspects of my profession is choosing a theme for a class and introducing students to exciting wines or wine regions I have discovered. And here in Manhattan, this is a special challenge, because in this jaded city most everyone dabbling in the world of wine has tasted pretty much everything the world has to offer.

So I first decided on a theme of Aromatic white wines, and decided that this class should be called “Discovering the ABCs of Wine.” Now in this context, the word “ABC” can mean “introduction to wine” – which is also an intention of the class. Many people have enjoyed wine for decades without really understanding how to analyze wine and appreciate the opportunity to formally learn this skill. Yet for me, ABC also means “Anything But Chardonnay.”

Now there is nothing wrong with Chardonnay. It is an international variety produced almost everywhere on the planet. It can grow in warm and cool climates. It can smell and taste like hot buttered popcorn, apple pie a la mode, or like mineral water with a squeeze of lime or lemon. And the reason it has so many expressions is because for the most part it is a neutral grape, with its expression and style coming from the choice of vinification.

Now for this tasting I chose three aromatic white varietals considered very unusual and hard to find. The first was a 2007 Domaine de Cezin, a wine made from the Chenin Blanc grape that grows in a tiny AOC region called Jasnieres in Touraine in the Loire Valley (France). What’s interesting about this appellation is that it was created in 1938, about a half century before the ‘frenzy’ AOCs are today. Almost every day, it seems, a new AOC is granted.

Given this 1938 AOC designation, one has to ask what is so special about this wine that it was distinguished from all the other regions in the Loire? First of all, Jasnieres is a tiny appellation … just 128 hectares under vine and a dozen producers making a living off their wine. The wine is named after the “terroir” so Domaine de Cezin is the name of the plot, now owned by the Fresneau family since 1952. In doing research on this wine, I saw many family photographs dating even earlier than 1952 – it is very much a family operation. This was likely the case in the Middle Ages, when wine from Jasnieres was drunk and celebrated by Kings (possibly, I’m assuming, with oysters from the mouth of the Loire). If you know Chenin Blanc, you know that it can be dry, sweet, or off-dry, depending on the mood of the producer and the vintage. In good vintages, Chenin Blanc is almost always sweet. This 2007 vintage borders that difficult area between dry and sweet … technically, I believe it must be under 9 grams of residual sugar to be considered “dry” yet sometimes searing acidity can make a technically off-dry wine taste dry by contrast.

In any event, when you taste this wine (a class favorite) you will find very high acidity that is a perfect match with seafood, good mouthfeel, racy acidity, minerals, and notes of lemon and citrus. The soil here is called “tuff” and is made of soft chalk, decomposing clay, with flint – very difficult to work. Vineyards face the south for sunshine and protection from the north winds. The forest of Berce also helps te vines resist the wind. On the web I read that some visiting journalists stopped by for tasting and M. Fresneau revealed that he recently tried a wine from the turn of the century left on the property from previous owners – and that it was still fresh and lively. I can believe this given the soil, acidity, and fifty year old vines.

Now the next wine ws Vin de Savoie Apremont Les Rocailles. I loved this wine in the 2007 vintage (no longer available). I first experienced it in a blind tasting, and with its delicate white and gold flowers, seemed possibly a Muscat. Actually, the grape is the Jacquere and it ONLY grows in the Savoie area of France, which is between the Italian and Swiss Alps. Unlike the Chenin Blanc from the Loire, this wine is meant to “drink now.” The 2008 had less flowers, and more minerals and fruit, which seems mostly citrus (tangerine, orange pith) with some minor CO2. The producer is now Pierre Boniface, who inherited the vineyard from his father when it was twenty hectares producing only this varietal. Now, I read that Mr. Boniface also makes red wines, has increased his hectares, and has succeeded in conquering the export market. In conducting research for the tasting, I see that a handful of blogger/tasters have written notes on this wine, with their readers so excited about it they are demanding to know where they can buy it. If you are reading this outside NYC, you might check out the web site for Hand Picked Selections, its importer.

The last wine in the tasting was the 2007 Finca y Bodega Carlos Pulenta Torrentes Tomero Valley de Cafatyate, which is a favorite among the ladies who lunch crowd. People – mostly women – who rarely drink love this wine because of its intense floral nose. It is like being at a bridal shower in terms of that light, white floral aroma. The grape is indigenous to Argentina (Salta) where it is sunny 360 days a year. Irrigation is mandatory. Despite the sun, the wine keeps its acidity because despite the warm days the nights are cool. The Torino brothers started the winery in 1898, twenty years after the Cafayate Valley became confirmed as a quality wine producing region.

So there you have it. Three very interesting white wines, none of them a Chardonnay!

Please try these wines and use the comment feature to share your thoughts.
 

Ah, the New World!

I've just received box of wines from this winery and since my wine studies have been so Old World focused, always delighted to receive California wines. Here are some tasting notes. 

Frei Brothers Reserve Merlot 2007 Dry Creek Valley

Smooth and rich, with rounded flavors of plums ripening in the sun. Very balanced acid and tannin, with the ripe, rich fruit showing through with every sip. A hint of vanilla from barrel aging.

From the web site, I learn the winemaker's goal is to produce a wine that represents the Dry Creek Valley terroir. The grapes are de-stemmed, but not crushed to retain a significant portion of whole berries for fermentation so as to produce more concentrated dark fruit flavors. After fermentation, 100% of the wine completes malolactic fermentation to soften the acids and add complexity.

Frei Brothers Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2006

Dream cab (my expression) though from very ripe vintage. Intense flavors -- blackcurrants, blackberries, spice, vanilla, graphite, mocha, and a hint of mint. Excellent concentration of flavors and comlexity, especially for the price. Pair with steak.

On the web, winemaker says that what typifies the Alexander Valley appellation is its "endless sun drenched days," which contribute to creating the region's signature concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon style. If you are a wine geek, you may be interested to know that "the 2007 growing season began with a dry spring that brought about early budbreak. The mild weather throughout the summer months combined with cool nights resulted in a smaller fruit set than usual. However, a heat wave in early September that lasted almost two weeks ripened grapes quickly. Temperatures cooled down in mid September and set a good pace for the rest of harvest. By the end of harvest, the 2007 wine grape crop was much smaller than in previous years but the quality was exceptional."

"The grapes for our Cabernet Sauvignon were gently destemmed but not crushed, sending a significant number of whole berries to be fermented. The must received 8-10 days of skin contact to extract intense color and flavor before it was inoculated with D254 and Bordeaux yeast strains for primary fermentation. Upright and horizontal rotary fermentors and cone sweep tanks were used to gently mix a portion of the juice and skins to prevent tannic bitterness. Temperatures were closely monitored and kept at approximately 85º during fermentation to yield a richer, rounder mouthfeel and body. After primary fermentation, the wine completed malolactic fermentation to soften the acid structure and to add complexity."

And yes, if you read my first paragraph, I thought the wine was really well made.

Frei Brothes Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2007

I had a craving for Sauvignon Blanc (SB) so I opened the 2007 Russian River Valley first. In a blind tasting, I feel fairly certain I could pick this out as a new world SB -- it has an initial 'old world' feeling in terms of the minerals and softer fruit and acidity, yet the higher alcohol is here at 13.5. People who find zesty New Zealand style wines too jarring will prefer this softer style, with a floral nose and ripe fruit.

I read on the web site the Sauvignon Blanc grapes are whole cluster pressed to eliminate bitterness and to maximize fresh fruit characters. Half of these grapes are oak aged in prior-used French barrels for 2 months to impart very subtle oak flavors. During this same time, the wine undergoes sur-lie aging to add a layer of complexity.

Syrah Reserve 2007 

Very good - rich and powerful. The nose is intense with spice and ripe red fruit. The palate is filled with jammy red fruit, spice, and vanilla - a very good integration of flavors. Very smooth and concentrated.

According to the winemaker: "The signature cooling maritime influences of the Russian River Valley serve to balance its warm days with cool refreshing evenings and fog cloaked mornings. This unique microclimate allows for the slow and even maturation of fruit, developing distinct flavors in our wines which reflect this great Sonoma terroir. The summer of 2007 was dry, with no rain to threaten rot or mildew. In addition, the classic Russian River Valley morning fog made a frequent appearance but burned off in the early afternoon. This gave the grapes the best of both worlds: warm sunshine to develop ripe flavors and cool temperatures to maintain acidity in the fruit. The 2007 weather closely mirrored the historical averages of temperatures for the region. These averages were notable because there were no major heat spells or cold snaps, just steady, cool-climate temperatures that create a perfect environment for growing world-class Syrah grapes.

Final thoughts from Marisa

I really liked all the wines in the line ... they are very good value for the money and are quite delicious. I also think it is helpful when the winemaker cares enough to provide extensive notes about the growing season and vinification.

Salute!

If you are like most people, it's hard to wrap your head around the concept of "mineral" in a wine. Most of us do not go around eating stones, or even smelling them. Yet tasting note after tasting note in all the glossy wine magazines refer to aromas of "wet stone" or "chalk" or "minerals." What does it all mean, and where does it come from?

Right now I am sipping Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc, 2007, from Marlborough New Zealand. You've probably had a NZ wine before and perhaps can even identify that grapefruit-intense, bright style in a line-up of Sauvignon Blanc wines from around the world. Yet in reading about this winery, it appears Stoneleigh was so named because of the sunstones in the vineyards.

Typically, when stones are present, a few things happen. First, it forces the roots of the vines to dig deep — actually very deep — into the soil to tap into water and nutrients. This possibly contributes to the mineral-rich aroma and palate since the roots are so far below the surface. Another benefit of a soil filled with sunstones (apart from the groovy, New Age image with its associations with ecology) is that the stones capture the sun's heat during the day, and that heat keeps the vines warm at night.

According to winemaker Jamie Marfell, the unique flavors in this wine (think fat, lush passion fruit with a squirt of refreshing pink grapefruit) are a result of both the stony free draining alluvial (riverbed) soils and slightly warmer climate of the Rapaura area. Indeed, when compared to its cooler climate NZ cousins, the wine seems softer, plumper, and with the kind of generous body that pairs well with a wide variety of food, especially first courses or luncheon dishes such as salads, seafood such as mussels, dressed crab, sautéed scallops, and brunch dishes such as quiche.

As delicious as this wine is, one of the most rewarding aspects of enjoying wine is understanding the "why" behind the flavors. The more you study wine and the effect that altitude, soil, and weather have on the wine, the more wine becomes less of a beverage and more of an enjoyable mystery. This is especially true when blind tasting wines, as the taster must ask "How did (the aroma or flavor) get there?" before beginning to deduce an answer.

The vineyards of Stoneleigh actually sit on an ancient riverbed, which in wine speak translates to the phrase "alluvial soil." It takes time, tasting, and serious reading to understand why "poor" and "stony" soil is a good thing for wine. Most of us assume that any crop, grapes included, do well in fertile soil; but grapes like a challenge, and vines make it their mandate to survive - whatever it takes.

As is often the case with humans, the more obstacles you give grapes, the harder they try to achieve their goal. In grape-speak, this means the determined vines dig down deep into the soil in order to snatch up the nutrients and water available to them.

Curious to learn more? Grab a bottle and share it with friends to see if you can detect the sunstones and mineral nuances.

So I’ve just opened a bottle of Ehlers Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2007 and inhale the delicate aroma of ripe, yet still firm, peaches and apricots. This aroma carries through to the palate, which has a fuller body than many Sauvignon Blancs because of its aging for three months in neutral French oak. Yet there is something else …

What can it be?

Most wine drinkers don’t really think about soil when they sip wine. In fact, if you are able to recognize a varietal such as Sauvignon Blanc, as opposed to any other white varietal, you are way ahead of the game. Yet as you delve deeper into the world of wine, you will discover that soil has a tremendous amount to do with what is going on in the glass.

Soil, of course, is a small component of the myriad of elements that go on in a wine. Yet in researching Ehlers Estate, I find that what is unique about this wine, and what may be giving it its more robust texture, is that the grapes were grown on two distinct blocks of land in the vineyard. The Sauvignon Blanc cultivated on a richer, loamy clay block produces the weight and texture many will detect in this wine, as well as the peach flavors. Grapes grown on the extremely gravelly block of the vineyard yield the intense aromatics (peach again, apricot, tangerine, and minerals).

Blending two blocks of differing soil in the same vineyard together is nothing new. Old world winemakers have been doing this for centuries for a variety of reasons. If you are ever fortunate enough to take a wine class in which you create your own Bordeaux wine (using a syringe-type object and in mad scientist fashion, combining the five classic varietals of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec into your personalized blend), you will understand the process.

Of course, for participants, it is fun. For the wine maker, it is very precise and nerve-jangling work. So Rudy Zuidema, the winemaker at Ehlers Estate, had the task of figuring the exact measurements of each block to add to the blend. I have not yet met or interviewed him, but I can imagine that the process took into account several factors, among them market research, to determine what kind of aroma, taste, and mouthfeel the target audience for California Sauvignon Blanc wine buyers wanted in their wine at a particular price point.

So, you might ask, is the wine a success? I like it. Now that I am tasting so many California wines side by side by their New Zealand and other counterparts, I can see a California profile begin to emerge. The fruit seems much riper, and acid, while refreshing, is not as high as in some cooler climate regions. Instead of tangy citrus fruit (grapefruits, lemons, limes) I’m sensing a lot of stone fruit (peaches, nectarines, apricots). The fruit is ripe and sweetly scented, yet not at the over-ripe state where it is soft to the touch.

If you are curious to learn more, invest in a bottle and do some research of your own. See if you can sense if this is a blend of two vineyards. Then, relax and just have fun. After all, that’s what wine education is all about.
P.S.
Visit AWineStory.com for even more great informative (and fun!) articles.