A 1992 Gallo Chardonnay

Posted on January 3, 2020 by thewineraconteur

One never knows what to expect when you start to rearrange the wine cellar, especially me, because I can be rather forgetful about what is there.  I saw this bottle and realized that it could possibly be an interesting article one way or the other and all I needed was the proper venue.  I could think of a few individuals that could appreciate the potential, and one of them appeared.  The Wine Raconteur Jr., who gave himself that moniker when he authored a couple of articles here; and he can probably outdo me, doing me.  He is a very busy individual and we contacted him very early about getting a dinner arranged for the Christmas season.  He opted to have dinner at his house, as he and his charming Bride are very accomplished in the kitchen, as well as anything else they decide to tackle.  We figured that it would be better at their house, because they could arrange dinners for their children and also the children would play while we were there.  I offered to supply the beverages, and that is a good trade off. 

We arrived at the designated time, and of course we had to catch up on all the latest news.  I being retired probably had the least number of new stories to relate, I don’t believe that either.  While we were chatting, we also exchanged our Christmas presents, and it is always fun to try to select the right gifts for the children, but my Bride did a great job, though she needed some parental assistance for the son, the daughter she nailed.  When we got down to the first bottle of wine, I had to give an introduction, and I also had a back up bottle, just in case.  I have tried to keep up with my readings, but I have been doing a rather poor job about that, until I can come up with a new rhythm for getting everything done, as I thought I would have so much more time as a retiree, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.  Though I mention the readings, because I have discovered several articles about older white wines and some have opined that maybe five years might be the end of the road for most whites, especially from the New World, and discounting fortified wines, famed dessert wines, old wines from the Jura and aged German wines with Pradikat.  I mean we have had some older white wines that have seen better days and had oxidized and gotten “foxy.”  The color had darkened, and the nose and flavor demanded that we try another bottle.  Lo and behold, I discovered that some writers had suggested that perhaps older wines should be kept a little longer and then tried, as some of the wines have a second life in the bottle after ages of being undisturbed.  I thought that twenty-seven years was long enough of a rest to see if there was any merit to this new bit of information that I had curried from scribes that have more knowledge and experience than I. 

I was opening up a bottle of Gallo Estate Bottled Chardonnay Northern Sonoma 1992, and I remember that when I got it, I was told that it was Gina Gallo who had started to make some “serious” wines as compared to the popular price Ernest & Julio Gallo.  The original Gallo Winery was founded in 1933, and the granddaughter Gina Gallo started creating the Gallo Signature Collection around the 1990’s from what I can gather and they began about forty years ago in Sonoma, so this wine could be the forerunner of the Estate Wine Series.  I can only go by the recent bottlings, but the fruit is hand picked from select blocks at each estate vineyard.  The grapes are pressed and transferred to French Oak barrels, of which eighty percent is new.  All fermentation occurs in barrel, followed by malolactic fermentation.  The wine spends from twelve to sixteen months aging in barrel, racked off of the lees and blended with the aging juice from all the different estates.  The time came to try it, and after opening the bottle and pouring, I could hear my Bride getting concerned that the wine must have oxidized, because the was a deep amber leaning to the brownish tones.  There was a slight musty nose at first, but it dissipated quite quickly and I took a taste.  I figured, only one person would have to suffer, and I did have Plan B in place.  The wine was very mellow and rather singular in that it did not have layers, but all the layers had blended into an easy drinking wine, that I was comparing to some of the old white Burgundy wines that I had the pleasure of having in my youth, say fifty years ago.  There were four fine glassfuls of this wine that was enjoyed by all, and if I had to try to respond with some descriptors, I would have to say that the smooth caramel rather wrapped up the stone fruit that was left, the oakiness had gone from buttery to a silky caramel without the sweetness.  I think we were all impressed.

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Happy New Year 2020

Posted on January 1, 2020 by thewineraconteur

As we leave the last time that I will ever be able to say I was in the teens, I wish everyone a Happy New Year, filled with continued prosperity and happiness.  Also remember that the attire for the Roaring Twenties was classy and chic.

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My Newest Wine Gadget

Posted on December 30, 2019 by thewineraconteur

I think my Bride gets more excited about gadgets than I do, and while I had thought that I had talked her out of a purchase, I guess I was wrong.  Over the years, she has or others have bought me exotic versions of the traditional corkscrew, and somehow to this day, my two favorites are still a perfect screw embedded in a petrified wine root that requires a lot of manual labor to pull the cork straight out of the bottle, and my favorite “waiter’s corkscrew” that is the easiest and the most compact.  There are a couple of the “Rabbit” style units here, as well as an electric/electronic corkscrew, and you would think that I am a caveman or a Neanderthal hiding in plain sight in today’s society.

I mean ever since my Bride saw a Coravin system being used, she was excited and rightfully so.  The concept is ingenious and it looks relatively easy to use.  I have been to restaurants that use the system to pour glasses of wine from their unicorn collections and then charge for a glass, what the bottle would be at retail, and truth be told, I have refrained from such expenditures, but I appreciate the concept.  It is the perfect tool for a wine shop that does wine tastings for customers on an individual basis, rather than at proscribed timed events.  I always thought it was overkill for the home, because if you open a wine and it is over the hill, you still have backups for a dinner. 

For the uninitiated, you are probably wondering what a Coravin system is.  The system allows you to enjoy a glass of wine without opening the bottle, a multiple of times (up to thirty times per their technology and gas capsule).  One can have white and then a red without ruining the cork, in fact the cork reseals after the pin is inserted to keep the wine fresh.  The system inserts a hollow pin through the cork allowing you to pour wine, and then when you remove the hollow pin, the cork can reseal the pinhole almost effortlessly.  I have read where bottles of wine have been tested over a year later, from the initial try with no noticeable change to the wine.  So even though I guess I lost, I also won, I wonder if I used the same argument for DRC or Le Pin.

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Two from Up North

Posted on December 28, 2019 by thewineraconteur

It was almost like getting a gift from Saint Nick, as we received four bottles of wine from up North, except that it wasn’t a gift, it was part of our wine club shipment from Black Star Farms and not from the North Pole.  During this past year when we were staying at the Inn at Bay Harbor, we were reintroduced to the wines of Black Star Farms and we were so impressed that we made it a point to visit the winery again and pick up some of the wines that we had enjoyed with dinner.  We were not that far away from Traverse City while at Bay Harbor, and it doesn’t take much arm twisting to go to a winery and do some tastings.  I would say that the combination of some excellent wines and some superb customer service that we were shown when we got to the winery, my Bride wanted to join their wine club, and since the wines in Michigan are improving year to year, I don’t mind touting the local industry, as I only like to write about wines that we enjoy. 

In 1998 Black Star Farms purchased Sport Valley Farm which was a one-hundred-twenty-acre equestrian facility, and the stylized black star was part of the architectural décor in the main house.  In their Twentieth year, they were honored to receive the 19’th Annual Canberra International Riesling Challenge (CIRC) -Best Wine of the 2018 Challenge and only the second time an American wine came out on top.  There were 567 Rieslings from six countries (Australian, New Zealand, USA, Germany, France and the Czech Republic).  The Black Star Farms Arcturos Dry Riesling 2017 scored 98 points, in addition to taking home Best Dry Riesling and Best American Riesling.  In fact, all six of the Riesling wines that Black Star Farms submitted took home medals, showing a consistency across vintages and styles.  The fruit is sourced from both of the proprietor’s vineyards and from local grower partners in both the Old Mission Peninsula and Leelanau Peninsula.  The winery has three series; the premium Arcturos, A Capella and the Leorie Vineyard labels for sparkling and fruit wines.

We received a shipment of four wines, two of each; Black Star Farms Isidor’s Choice Chardonnay Leelanau Peninsula 2017 and Black Star Farms Isidor’s Choice Pinot Noir Leelanau Peninsula 2017.  Isidor’s Choice wines are from fruit harvested from a grower-partner on a higher plateau of land.  There was a prior time that they marketed an Isidor’s Pinot Noir as well as a Red Blend and they have brought it back, initially only for the club members, or at least they get first dibs.  The winery is attempting to create two wines that are more Burgundian in style.  There is no mention of aging time or the quantity produced. The Chardonnay is listed as having extended aging in French Oak, in a combination of new and second use barrels.  The wine is described as having apple and pear aromas, with hints of vanilla, spices and a smooth oak finish.  The Pinot Noir has been aged in French Oak, with half of the barrels being new.  The notes say “if you are looking to try a Michigan version of what the French call Burgundy, this is your wine!”

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Merry Christmas

Posted on December 26, 2019 by thewineraconteur

My Bride and I wish you a Merry Christmas, or the Holiday of your choice.

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“You Look Like a Mobster”

Posted on December 24, 2019 by thewineraconteur

“You look like a mobster” is how someone broke the ice in a conversation with me, at a corporate holiday party, because Corporate America can not call it a Christmas Party anymore.  I mean I was totally at a loss for words for a moment, because I was trying to think what a mobster would wear at a party.  I was not dressed like I worked a nine to five job, in a gray or navy suit.  I had a dark burgundy sport coat with pearl gray flannel trousers, with a complimentary shirt and tie, perhaps the shoes were a bit much, since they were pearl gray suede wing tips, but I am a retired clothier.  The man was adamant because I looked slick and I had slick hair; that is what he told me.  I gave up and let him go on with his conversation, instead of having Rocco and boys take out back for a lesson in manners. 

Be that as it may, we had a very nice holiday party and both my Bride and I were rebellious and did not try to apply the “Avery” self-stick name tags on our garments, as she was wearing velvet and I have never liked wearing those.  Outside of the new couple, I knew everyone at the table, and everyone knows my Bride, since she works for the hosting company.  There were hot and cold appetizers being served by the waitstaff during the cocktail time of the dinner, and there was a seven-piece band playing very nice music in the background, and a photographer taking photos of people milling about.  I do get a kick out of watching people swoop down and try to get tons of the appetizers, my philosophy is to try one, if I don’t like them, no big deal, but others I guess were afraid that there would not be enough to eat during dinner.  We eventually were seated for dinner and rolls and butter and a salad were brought out.  The salad was what is termed a Michigan Salad with slivers of apple and raisons and a Champagne vinaigrette dressing.  The dinner was an option of either chicken or salmon that one had to preselect prior to the actual affair, and my Bride and I both had the Grilled Salmon with Lyonnais Potatoes and Green Beans.  For dessert there were a couple of sweet tables set up and one could get as much or as little as they wanted, and to me that is perfect.  After dinner there was a small talk by the Big Boss and they also handed out some awards and then it was time for dancing.

As I mentioned there was a cocktail hour and there was a cocktail bar, off to the side of tables and one could find groups huddled together as always happens at these affairs, for some business never ends.  The liquor selection was very good, I didn’t see what the beer selection was, but I did see some of the younger hires walking around with a bottle of beer, instead of using a glass.  Then there was wine and they were all from Langtry Estate & Vineyards.  Langtry Estate & Vineyards is located in the Guenoc Valley in California’s Lake County, and it was established by the British actress Lillie Langtry who bought the estate in 1888 and introduced the area to vineyards.  They produce all types of wines and blends and it is now twenty-three-thousand acres and overlooks a reservoir.  The estate if now owned by Foley Family Wines.  When I first went up to the bar to get a couple of glasses of white wine, I was informed that there was either Pinot Grigio or Riesling, so we ended up having the Langtry Estate Guenoc Pinot Grigio California 2018.  It was a very easy drinking glass of wine and that works for me.  When the dinner portion of the evening was approaching, I went and got a couple of glasses of the Langtry Estate Pinot Noir 2017, as I thought that I would like the Pinot Noir over a Cabernet Sauvignon to pair with the Salmon.  It was a decent wine, but after dinner we ended up going back to the Pinot Grigio and then the ladies behind the bar also discovered that they also had a Chardonnay, but we stayed with the Pinot Grigio.  My Bride and I stayed for some dancing, until they stopped playing our dance music, but it was a very nice evening.

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Ramos Pinto Lagrima

Posted on December 22, 2019 by thewineraconteur

I thought I was all done with the tastings at The Fine Wine Source, but Vintage Wine Company had another wine to pull out of their sleeve.  Vintage Wine Company represents Maisons Marques & Domaines, originally the marketing arm for Champagne Louis Roederer in the United States of America, but they have since expanded their services to forty-three wineries that are both domestic and abroad.  They had a white Port to serve.

Ramos Pinto is one of the Port Houses in Portugal and was founded by Adriano Ramos Pinto in 1880.  Their portfolio is famed for their aged Tawnies, but their other offerings have increased in respect in the past years and they offer all of the typical Port styles; besides the Tawny, there is the white, ruby and LBV (Late Bottled Vintage) as well as their Vintage Ports, and they also offer a Red and a White Douro table wine.  There are four different quintas or vineyards that they own, the first was bought in 1919 and the last was added in 1985.  In 1990 they became part of the Roederer Group.

The last wine was Ramos Pinto Lagrima NV, and a White Port is offered by every major house on the Douro River.  It is not appreciated as much as the other Port offerings, because it is viewed as inexpensive and slightly sweeter compared to the red Port wines.  There are about fifty different grapes that may be used to make White Port, and only about half of the grapes that can be used are white grapes, though the red grapes are often derided for being of lesser quality.  The wines are usually not aged in wood, but in Stainless Steel or Concrete vats, and they are usually aged for about eighteen months.  Lagrima means “tears” and usually refers to a viscous, sweet style of White Port and is predominately sold on their domestic market.  This particular wine is made using Codega, Malvasia Fina (Bual or Boal) and Rabigato (Rabo de Ovelha) grapes and they are all white or light skinned grapes.  I am sorry, but I fell in love with this wine, before I really knew what it was.  The nose was oranges and chamomile tea, the taste was just ripe fruit with a finish of a light honey.  I could picture any number of times when this wine would be perfect, even with my favorite dish of foie gras; or a dessert, which I seldom have any more, unless you count a wine after dinner.  This was a wine that I had to take home with me and eventually share with my Bride and others.

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Querciabella Chianti Classico and Camartina

Posted on December 20, 2019 by thewineraconteur

While I was enjoying a wine tasting at the Fine Wine Source in Livonia, I was thinking what a great job the representatives at The Vintage Wine Company have in being able to taste and pour some great wines, potentially daily while they work.  The Vintage Wine Company is the distributor locally for Maisons Marques & Domaines, who originally was the marketing arm for Louis Roederer USA, Inc.  I just had two Italian wines from Querciabella, and I was going to try two other ones as well, and I did not know this winery until that day, which is not that hard to understand.  Alongside of the original hectare of vineyards are oak trees, and the name Querciabella translates to “beautiful oak.”

The third wine that I had was Querciabella Chianti Classico DOCG 2015, which is fitting for a winery that began in 1974 in Tuscany.  What is more Tuscan then Chianti Classico and a wine that I basically grew up on, even including the old straw wrapped bottles that add charm to many Italian restaurants.  Chianti Classico has to be Sangiovese and this wine is pure Sangiovese.  The fruit is hand-harvested and then destemmed but not crushed, it is sent to temperature controlled Stainless Steel vats where the fermentation and the maceration would take shape, the maceration lasts about twelve days and after complete malolactic fermentation, the juice is transferred to French oak barrels, both big and small ones, with only five percent being new.  The aging of the wine and the selection process for the Chianti Classico production takes about fourteen months and then there is an additional three months in the bottle.  This was a solid and rich Chianti perfect by itself and would be awesome with a big dinner with a great tomato sauce and plenty of spices, this wine would shy away. 

The last Italian wine was Querciabella Camartina Toscana IGT 2013, it is the estate’s signature Super Tuscan, but it is only produced in stellar vintages to maintain the prestige. The wine is a blend of seventy percent Cabernet Sauvignon and thirty percent Sangiovese.  The fruit is all hand harvested, destemmed and placed into five-ton French oak fermenters, where the alcoholic fermentation, maceration and malolactic fermentation occur.  The Sangiovese juice usually takes about twelve days, while the Cabernet Sauvignon usually require about twenty days.  Then the juice is transferred to French oak of which twenty-five percent is new and they are aged for twelve months.  Then the assorted lots are tested and the best are selected to be assembled in the final blend, which requires an additional year of aging.  The wine is then aged an additional six months in the bottle before release.  Eight-hundred-fifty cases were produced, plus some specialty larger individual wooden boxed bottles.  They figure that the prime time for drinking this wine is between four and eighteen years after harvest.  This was a charming wine and delivered every way possible, just from the visual of its deep color, the nose told you that this was a keeper.  A wine that had to be chewed to appreciate the layers of especially black cherries and other dark fruits that stayed with you for a nice long finish.  For me, this is a special occasion wine and should be paired with an excellent special cut of meat.  I was totally pleased and I think that I was so in awe, that I forgot to take a photograph of the wine.   

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Querciabella Batar and Mongrana

Posted on December 18, 2019 by thewineraconteur

There I was having this arduous job of just tasting some charming sparkling wines and then I was going to try some Italian wines while I was at the Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  All the wines that were being featured were from Maisons Marques & Domaines through there local distributor The Vintage Wine Company.   Maisons Marques & Domaines may have originally been the American marketing arm for Louis Roederer, they have since branched out and are the marketers for forty-three brands both domestically and abroad.

In 1974 Giuseppe Castiglioni, an industrial entrepreneur and lifelong wine lover bought a single hectare vineyard on a Tuscan hillside.  A place to grow his favorite grapes: Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, plus a couple more.   In the 1980’s he was joined by his son Sebastiano and they converted the estate to organic viticulture in 1988 and made Querciabella one of the original wineries in Italy to go that route.  Sebastiano also was for animal rights and made the winery plant-based.  From that single hectare vineyard in Tuscany, there are now more than a hundred hectares under the Querciabella name as they are also in Chianti Classico and in Maremma. 

The Querciabella Batar Toscana IGT 2015 was the first of the wines that I tasted from this winery.  This wine is a blend of equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc.  Some of the fruit comes from the original vineyard and then the other parts come from newer acquisitions and there are two distinct types of soil which lend to the terroir of this wine, one is of a sandstone setting and the other a schist and slate type of soil.  The fruit is hand harvested and after fermentation the wine is aged on the lees in French Oak for nine months and stirred once a week. After the two wines are blended, they are then aged an additional six months in concrete vats.  While the wine is drinkable immediately the winery feels that four years is when the wine will really show its personality and they think it will hold its own for twenty years in the cellar. The wine was very impressive and one of the few white “Super Tuscans” that I have had and priced like a fine red from the region.  The wine was rich, almost Burgundian with layers and nuances that were wonderful for a young wine, offering both terroir and peaches, honey and almonds.  I could have stopped here, but I did go on with the tastings.  The Querciabella Mongrana Toscana IGT 2016 is from the Maremma region and the Chianti Classico region and is a red “Super Tuscan” wine.  Since the inception of this wine, it has always been biodynamically grown.  The wine is fifty percent Sangiovese, twenty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon and twenty-five percent Merlot.  The soils from the varied vineyards are a mix of gravel, pebbles, silt and alluvial sand all which impart terroir or as I affectionately call it dirt.  The juices were aged in either cement or stainless steel and then blended together.  This wine was what all the red “Super Tuscan” wines should be, especially in this price point which was very affordable and even in a restaurant would still not break the budget.  It was a rich, deep Chianti that had plenty of nuances from the different grapes and was made to be enjoyed young and up to ten years in the cellar.  Very easy to drink by itself or with food and light years away from that old “Dago Red” that was probably some of the earliest wines that I ever had as a kid. 

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Louis Roederer Cristal

Posted on December 16, 2019 by thewineraconteur

There are times when I get to taste a wine that odds are, I would never get a chance to try.  This happened at The Fine Wine Source in in Livonia, Michigan as I was doing a wine tasting.  The Vintage Wine Company was representing Maisons Marques & Domaines, the marketing arm of Champagne Louis Roederer USA, Inc.  They were offering ten different wines from this agency that they represent and there was a fine turnout for this tasting, and at times, it does get a bit claustrophobic, but I think that is part of the charm of the tastings there, and people seem to understand that I make a pest of myself as I take my photos and my notes.

Louis Roederer after changing the family owned business to his name, began some unique business practices for the day; like buying his own vineyards, instead of relying on the work of others, and he also began exporting his wine  in the 1870’s to the United States and to Tsar Alexander II of Russia.  He created a special Champagne for the Tsar, the first Cuvée de Prestige in 1876 and named it “Cristal.” This special wine even had a special bottle designed in leaded crystal and was a flat-bottomed bottle with no indentation in the bottle, as the Tsar was afraid of a bomb being potentially placed in the indentation with the intention of assassination.   “Cristal” is only produced when a vintage is declared and since the year 2000, they have only declared nine vintages. 

Louis Roederer Cristal 2007 is from one of those vintages and the fruit for this wine is estate only and from some of the oldest vines and their finest vineyards.  This wine was aged for six years on the lees, and after the disgorging the wine rests an additional eight months to fully mature, before being released.  The wine is a blend of sixty percent Pinot Noir and forty percent Chardonnay.  It had a very pretty golden color with the slightest tinge of maybe some orange, that may not show up in the photo.  It was a very silky wine with limestone terroir sharing with tastes of pear, currants and hazelnuts for a delightful finish.  Perhaps it was best said by the Cellar Master Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon who said “Cristal 2007 is a magnificent example of Cristal’s ‘discreet power.’”

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