Nine Years Difference

Posted on January 30, 2019 by thewineraconteur

I do enjoy going into a wine shop, as I never know what I may encounter.  On one of my infrequent, though my Bride might think it is very frequent stops at the Fine Wine Source I got a chance to taste two wines from vintages that were nine years apart.  Once in a blue moon, I may encounter a chance to try some Library wines if there is a guest winemaker that I am going to see, but to just walk into a wine shop and get an offer like that is one that no one can refuse.  At least I can’t think of one.

Moonridge Vineyards’ Korbin Kameron wines was started by Mitch Ming and his family and named after his twin sons Korbin and Kameron.  The winery was planted in 2000 and estate straddles the ridge of Mount Veeder, with part of the estate in Napa County, but the majority being on the Sonoma County side.  The vineyard is on 186-acre property on Mount Veeder in Sonoma County.  The winery is growing the classic grapes of Bordeaux with very great success.  The area is famed for having a very long growing season, so the grapes can fully mature and become fully balanced.  In 2013 Moon Mountain AVA was created and recognized for being the longest growing season for the Sonoma Valley, and also for its rich volcanic soil, with perfect drainage to make the roots of the vine struggle and to grow deep.  The Moon Valley AVA is so relatively new that it has not been seen that often and some wineries may not take advantage of it, until it becomes more widely known.

The first wine that I had was the Korbin Kameron Cabernet Sauvignon (Moon Mountain) 2005.  The wine shop had this wine listed as Moon Mountain AVA, but the certification didn’t arrive for another eight years, but the estate and vineyard hadn’t moved, so I can appreciate the gesture.  There was almost no information about this vintage, but I will take an educated guess that the production was less than eight-hundred-cases of wine, and through the years, there is probably not that much left floating around, as the winery does not even list it on their Library selection.  The color and the nose in the glass belied the age of the wine, as I could not ascertain any aging signs.  The finish was beautiful with a very long count, and I even paused a bit, before trying the next wine.  The next wine was the Korbin Kameron Cabernet Sauvignon Moon Mountain 2014, which now is officially of the new AVA status.  The wine was aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which half was new.  There was six-hundred-thirty-cases produced of this wine.  This wine, maybe it was psychological, but it smelled younger, if that makes sense and the taste was more jammy and black fruit forward, whereas the first wine had mellowed out much more.  The finish was long, but not as long as the first wine and I just attribute that to the age and the mellowness, or maybe that is just my built-in bias towards older wines.

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January Wine Club Selections

Posted on January 28, 2019 by thewineraconteur

It is that wonderful time of the year, when the snow blowers are running on high, the thermostats have to be adjusted and water pipes have to be monitored.  It is also the time of the month when I got an email that I could go and pick up the January selections from the Fine Wine Source in Livonia.  As I am sure you can imagine, it doesn’t take much goading to have me visit a wine shop, and because I get excited about something new, I refuse to read what the wines are, until I get them home.  I mean if I were a wine shop owner and I offered monthly club selections, I would try to pick out a couple of affordable wines that deliver a bang for the buck and would introduce new areas and/or grapes that maybe people don’t immediately reach for.   I mean when one goes into a wine shop, the wines that seem to have the most shelf space are Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, because the public by and large know those two grapes.  I would also try to include one “Old World” and one “New World” and probably use the Judgement of Paris for that demarcation line.

The first wine out of the bag, fulfilled the “Old World” requirement and the unusual grape and region.  The Agricole Vallone Versante Negroamaro Salento IGT Puglia 2015, accomplished two of the goals very handily.  Here is a wine from Italy, but not from an area that would be readily identified by most of the populace, as it isn’t a villa in Tuscany, but actually an old “castle” edifice in Puglia which is in the “heel” part of Italy.  The most common appellation from the area is Salento IGT, as it covers the most area and allows for the most variety and allows the wineries to do as they fancy.  There are over fifty different grapes that have found themselves already allowed, and all colors and styles, but mostly traditional rustic charming wines, and the local grapes hold more dominance compared to the big names like Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.  Negroamaro is a dark-skinned grape whose name if you translate it, means black and bitter, but actually the grape has a high sugar count and the grape is very drought-resistant.  I think the bitter may arrive from the natural spice tastes that one encounters that remind some of the older elixirs of herbs that were prevalent in another period of history.  The tasting notes are that this is a wine that does not have to be sipped, because it has milder tannins, but is robust and should be enjoyed with pastas and pizzas and even boar.

The other wine is from the “New World” and features a grape that some consider the grape of California, but research has proven that it is originally from Italy or wait maybe Croatia.  The Foxglove Zinfandel 2015 from Paso Robles is actually the value label of Varner Wine.  While technically a Zinfandel, this wine has twenty percent Petite Sirah.   The average age of the vines used are twenty-five years and the grapes are actually destemmed prior to pressing and the wine is aged in Stainless Steel.   Varner Wine is dedicated to their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines that they produce on their estate.  The Foxglove label produces Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Central Coast, as well as the Zinfandel from Paso Robles to the tune of about twenty-five-thousand cases of wine.  This is a classic interpretation of a California Zinfandel so it promises to be jammy and fruit forward and bold.  This is a wine that will also pair well with pizzas and pastas, but also grilled and smoked meals of hearty meats.  I have never tried it, but I know plenty of friends that enjoy a good Zinfandel with chocolate cake.

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Cello

Posted on January 26, 2019 by thewineraconteur

It was a long time coming, but at Cello in downtown Howell, we met The Caller and his wife.  There is no one that has missed this couple more than my Bride and I.  Since they have both retired, they are even more difficult to get with than before, so I know retirement agrees with both of them.  It was my duty to try to find someplace where we could both meet at, especially since they have moved out in the country, to parts that a GPS system gets lost, and so does UPS and Amazon Prime.  I found a couple of places so that they could make a choice and I thought they would go for a steakhouse, but instead they chose an Italian restaurant.  Now, I have to admit that I did some research, because I can be a bit of a food snob, in case you may have missed it, and my brain always has trouble putting an Italian restaurant in a non-Italian community setting.  I didn’t want egg noodles and ketchup.  My research appeared solid and The Caller knew of the restaurant and had heard some good reviews, so I felt safer.  I have to presume that the restaurant is named Cello as a shorthand for the house-made Limoncello and not for the concert stringed instrument, and by the way the music was well selected with Dino, Frank, Tony and Louis and Keeley, so I could sing along if I hadn’t been so busy chatting, eating and drinking.

Cello has a rather unique approach to dining, as the placemat is also the menu on one side and the wine list on the other.  Before we even could study the menu, our waitress brought us a little plate of nibbles, actually they were bite size versions of their Arancini, a little ball of saffron risotto and fresh mozzarella deep fried and in a bed of Marinara.  When the waitress came back, she explained the conceit of the menu, and it is designed to be kind of a small plates attitude or it could be big plates as well, and every plate is designed to be shared, and that is perfect for the four of us, as we are always sharing dishes.  We started of with a plate of Roasted Garlic with a balsamic reduction, tomatoes and ciabatta, Roasted Olives with roasted celery and fennel and Sausage and Peppers with onions, marinara and a house ricotta.  We had big plates of Eggplant Parmesan with marinara and basil pesto, Gulf Shrimp Scampi with roasted tomatoes and arugula, Scallops with saffron risotto, white truffle oil and roasted tomatoes with Pecorino Romano and Mahi-Mahi with a Prosecco cream sauce.  We had some small plates of Carbonara Bucatini, White Clam Bucatini and Wild Mushroom Gnocchi.  They also brought to the table a device that freshly grinds Gran Padano and the ladies were going to take a photo to see if they could buy it, and our waitress brought over two brand new packages from the kitchen, which were immediately purchased.  We all shared a slice of their “World Famous” Carrot Cake that was served warm and then frosted, and yes it was delicious and there was still some left when we departed, the entrée dishes did not suffer the same malady.

My Bride and I left very early so that we could avoid the majority of the rush hour traffic, as that traffic continues to go further and further out, to what I used to call the country.  Since we got there early enough, she planned on doing some shopping and we also got in a good one to two mile walk before dinner.  We got to the restaurant still quite a bit early, but they took us to our table, so we kind of had a chance to look at the menu and the wine list.  So, to start the evening off on a good footing we each had a flute of Gardiz Prosecco DOC NV.  Prosecco has become one of the festive wines that people enjoy, it has that festive appeal of a Champagne without the price, of course most of the wines are made by the Charmat Method and I will have to presume that this wine was, as I could find no information on it.  I do know that it is from the Prosecco grape and not the Glera, they are both the same, but for marketing rights, the wines that are from Veneto get the big name.  This was a good middle of the road Prosecco with medium size bubbles and a little sweetness and it was great before dinner.  The Caller and his wife showed up and they thought that they would be early and they were going to have a cocktail.  One had the Palermo Peach which was Bulleit Rye, Peach Nectar, Aperol, Lemon and Simple Syrup and the other had the Corleone Negroni which was Greyling Gin, Aperol, Lillet Blanc and Orange.  Then it was time to order the wines for dinner and the wine carte at Cello had twenty-six wines to select from and they were all from Italy and to their credit, it was not the typical Italian wines that one can find at some of the corner stores.  We started off with Pio Cesare L’Altro Chardonnay 2016 from the Piedmont.  I have to admit that I have a certain bias towards the wines from Pio Cesare as I have always found them to a cut above most of the “brands.” The estate was founded in 1881 and is still in the founding family’s ownership.  Only six percent of their production is in Chardonnay.  This wine is called L’Altro which translates to “the other” to differentiate this Chardonnay wine from their single vineyard Piodilei.  This wine is a Chardonnay and “Sauvignon Blanc in small part.”  The wine is aged with extensive time on the lees in both Stainless Steel and some French Oak.  It was a very crisp wine with some mineral tones to give some zest and very easy to drink.  Right after the white wine was opened and poured the waitress came with the red wine and decanted it, which I thought was a nice touch.  That wine was Tenuta Arbeta Barolo DOCG 2011 from Alessandro Berselli in the Piedmont.  This wine was entirely Nebbiolo and the fruit came from two different vineyards and was aged for twenty-four months in French Oak.  The nose on this wine was beautiful when it was being decanted, but it wasn’t there later.  It was a good drinking wine, but it was not as big as I expected from a Barolo.  I would go there again, but I would like to try some of the other wines that they had on the list, and we are looking forward to the next get-together.

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Roberts + Rogers Winery

Posted on January 24, 2019 by thewineraconteur

I had the privilege of tasting two wines from Roberts + Rogers Winery from St. Helena when I was at my local wine shop The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  In 1999, longtime friends Roger Louer and Robert Young commenced efforts to establish a first-class Cabernet Sauvignon wine brand, sourcing the grapes from Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California. Located to the east of St. Helena, at an elevation ranging from 1400 to 2200 feet, Howell Mountain is considered one of the most prestigious wine growing regions in the world. Roberts and Rogers sources its grapes for this wonderful wine from the Howell Mountain sub appellation area and for the present vintages from a vineyard jointly developed by Roberts and Rogers in 2000.

The first wine that I tried was the Roberts + Rogers Louer Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2014.  In 2009, Roger Louer produced Louer Family Reserve Cabernet from his personal estate in St. Helena for a select group of friends. The wine was sourced from the best barrels of the thirty-four-acre estate and has sold out before it was produced for the past three years.  Roberts + Rogers released the 2012 vintage under the R+R label for the first time.  This wine is pure Cabernet Sauvignon and it was fermented and barrel aged in new French Oak.  I found this wine to have a bit of a tight nose, but that could have been from the Coravin System, but a great long finish of dark fruit and spice; I could drink it now or let it cellar for ten to twenty years.

The second wine that I tried was Roberts + Rogers Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2013.  Howell Mountain AVA was the first sub-region recognized for this honor in 1984.  There is no Howell Mountain peak, the region is actually named after the small Howell Mountain Township located up the slope from St. Helena.  Howell Mountain is probably one of the most honored and respected mountain side wine growing area there is.  This is another Cabernet Sauvignon that is pure, with no blended varietals and fermented and aged in new French Oak for twenty-four months.  Where I found the Louer Family Vineyard to have a tight nose, this wine had a full and open nose, the wine was bigger and I guess “jammier” as this seems to be what the current wine crop of wine writers and critics are demanding, but the tannins were already quite balanced for a young wine, and the finish was much longer on this wine compared to the Louer Family Vineyard.   I think an easy twenty years in the cellar for this wine would be awesome, but most of it will be consumed earlier and because it was so balanced, I think it could be done without any detriment for those that can’t wait.

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December Wine Club Wines

Posted on January 22, 2019 by thewineraconteur

Some months I seem to scramble to get enough articles for my self-imposed every other day schedule.  The Fine Wine Source in Livonia has been able to help me with new wine tastings and we even joined their monthly club.  I look to the monthly wine club selections as a way for me to have some wines that I might not stop and get, when I am shopping, because we all have our comfort zone, and it is sometimes hard to leave that zone, even when shopping for wine and you are looking for something new to try and to write about.

Anyone that has followed me for some time, realizes that I am not the typical wine writer and that I can get off on a tangent on a small detail, or the design of a label, and I like to collect labels for my scrap book, since the walls in my cellar are now covered with labels.  The first wine from a label standpoint I may have passed on, but as the old saying goes, you can’t just a book by its cover; and as a side note I am a bibliophile.  Chronic Cellars Spritz & Giggles Grand Cuvee NV from Lodi, California fits that description nicely.  Jake and Josh Beckett began working for their father Doug Beckett at Peachy Canyon Winery and the wine bug got both of them.  They launched Chronic Cellars in 2007 with a fifty-six-case production of Petite Sirah, and they are now up to an annual production of thirty-thousand cases of wine.  They were so successful that they were bought by Winery Exchange in 2014, with the proviso that they both continue working in their positions.  Spritz & Giggles is made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and the fruits were sourced from the North Coast.  The wine is produced using the Charmat Method, which is the more economical way to produce sparkling wine.   The longer the duration of fermentation in this method, preserves the wine’s aromas and creates finer and more bubbles, but a lot of bulk producers are not that concerned about these nuances.  The tasting notes suggest more fresh fruit in both aroma and taste, which sounds fine for a young sparkling wine.  It is also suggested that it will pair well with desserts and salty snacks, cheeses and Charcuterie.

The other wine was Lanciola Chianti Colli Fiorentinti DOCG 2015 from Azienda Agricola Lanciola.  Chianti Colli Fiorentini is a sub-region of Chianti and not as popular or as famed and like Chianti it is known and required to have Sangiovese and Azienda Agricola Lanciola also grows Colorina, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot; they also have olive groves.  They have fourteen hectares, ten of which are devoted to vineyards.  The wine is ninety percent Sangiovese and the balance are from the other grapes grown.  The fermentation is done in Stainless Steel, and the aging is done in a mixture of Stainless Steel and oak with a minimum of six months.  The notes on this wine call for a deep violet blood red with dark fruit aromas to the nose and on the tongue with a berry finish.  It is suggested that it would be best with grilled meats or Pasta Bolognese.  I think both of the wines will be reported on, later this year.

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Corsi’s

Posted on January 20, 2019 by thewineraconteur

I grew up in Detroit in the 50’s and the 60’s, and there was a fad in the restaurant world that caught on, and it was called “pizza.”  In my old neighborhood, we even had a couple of nice sit-down restaurants and several carry-out places.  There were no chain pizzerias, in fact there were only a few chain restaurants back then, and none that we went to.  It was a simpler time, and food was not fussy, but it had to be better than what we could get at home, or it wasn’t worth the time, effort or the money.  To this day, pizza is a treat for me, because it isn’t something we make at home from scratch, though I am not a fan of frou-frou pizzas, I like a big slice of pie with long stringy cheese, covered with a ton of toppings, so that the cheese is almost hidden, and pie that can be folded in half.  My Bride likes a knife and fork when eating pizza and it is one of the few items that I actually like to pick up and hold while I am eating.   I don’t put a lot of demands on pizza, other than it has to be good.

I had heard of Corsi’s often and it was not really far from where we live, but we had never tried it.  We had gone to the Plymouth Ice Festival to get our daily walk in, as we like to walk a couple of miles each day, though it was hard to maintain a good pace with the crowds, we did get a chance to see the ice sculptures and see all of the snow that they manufactured in the downtown park, because as of yet, we haven’t had any snow, and I probably have just jinxed us.  We saw an ice sculpture of a pizza maker and that cinched the idea, and we decided to try Corsi’s.   We must have used a “way-back machine” to get there, because it is family owned and operated since 1958 and I don’t think that they changed the décor since they opened up.  As they say it was Deja-vu, all over again.  They have quite a nice menu, but I only had one thought in mind and we ordered the Corsi’s special and in the medium size of ten slices.  I was in heaven, or that moment when nostalgia takes over.  We didn’t have a salad or anything else, and the wait seemed forever, and I guess that is good, because they were actually making a pizza and probably using the industrial ovens that they installed in 1958.  The pizza finally showed up, and it was the pizza of my youth, with irregular pizza dough with bubbles and sporadic “burn” spots, and they are very generous with the toppings, it doesn’t appear that they were counting the pieces.  The final blessing to the meal, was that they had the old-fashioned pepperoni that would curl up in the oven, and would offer a couple of pearls of grease in the curled bowl.  It was pizza, and damn good pizza, that maybe was not the healthiest thing to eat, but once in a while, the soul has to be placated.

I being the yokel that I am at times, asked for the wine list, and our waitress pointed to a small plastic stand on the table that listed I think five wines and three were the common catering hall type of wines, which makes sense, because Corsi’s also has catering halls from day one, and the signage that was up that evening giving directions, looked like they had three different parties going on.  My Bride asked me what Fortissimo was, and all I could think of was the rows and rows of gallon jugs of Fortissimo that would line the floors and shelves of the old Italian markets of my youth, the wine that always reminded me of the “Dago Red” wine that we used to get as gifts from some of my Father’s friends.  Fortissimo is still made by CK Mondavi Family Vineyards, but I decided to order “Chianti.”  I asked to see the bottle, as they sell the wine by the glass or by carafe, also shades of the old days, with those small wine glasses that I am surprised that are still being made, where they fill the wine up to the rim of the glass.  The Livingston Cellars California Reserve Chianti NV was the wine, and the winery was established in 1933 in Modesto, California.  I was surprised that the wine could be labeled as Chianti, but maybe they have been grandfathered in, just like there are still a couple of California Champagnes.  The grapes used for this wine are probably only known to the winemaker, or maybe not, because nowhere could I find what this Chianti was made of.  You know what, it doesn’t matter, it worked with the ambience of the moment, it was fun, and neither of us complained of heartburn, even with the addition of the cracked red pepper flakes.

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Riveyrac Rivesaltes

Posted on January 18, 2019 by thewineraconteur

When I am at my local wine shop The Fine Wine Source, I never know what I may end up tasting, and that is what is exciting.  Though I try to not make a pest of myself, I do like to take notes, especially when I am trying something totally new.  I once had a reader write to me that he was going to have a bottle of Rivesaltes as part of his birthday celebration and I had to look it up, as I did not know the wine at all.  I must admit that part of my lack of knowledge is because it is a dessert wine, and in the big picture, this is a category that I have had the least amount of wines.

Rivesaltes is an appellation for the historic sweet wines of eastern Roussillon, part of the Languedoc-Roussillon that is becoming much more popular, in the deep south of France. The sweet “vin doux naturel” wines produced in this area have been famous and reported on since at least the 14th Century. The technique used to make them is one of several employed for sweet wines. Unlike botrytized wines or ice wines, “vin doux naturel” wines are made by mutage, a process of stopping the must fermenting while there is still a high level of natural sweetness. With their high levels of residual sugar and alcohol these wines are sweet and a bit syrupy, which is an easy way to describe it.  Rivesaltes wines are often confused with Muscat de Rivesaltes wines, which are similar in style and come from the same area, except that it is made from Muscat grapes, while Rivesaltes is made from Grenache of all three forms, that is Noir, Blanc and Gris.  There are a couple of different designations for this wine, depending on its age.

The Riveyrac Rivesaltes Les Cuvees des Aigles 1975 is considered to be a Tuille, which are made from fifty percent Grenache Noir and is aged for two years, this wine is actually at the top rung of classifications as it is termed Hors d’Age and it is aged for at least five years.  On the back of the bottle there was an additional label “This wine has been aged, stored and kept intact in oak barrels since its harvest, by the vineyard owner and his heirs.  It was bottled in 2014, under optimum conditions without any treatment.”  So, for almost thirty years this wine has been aging in the barrel and the color had a chestnut brown color with a nose promising dried fruits and spices; it was totally balanced and had a very long finish.  I was in love with this wine, and so was my Bride.  If it was offered in a split, I think she would have had me carry one home, but for us a regular bottle of this would be over kill, even though it was totally delightful.

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When Its Least Expected

Posted on January 16, 2019 by thewineraconteur

There was an old television show in black and white called Candid Camera and I purloined the title from their song.  Periodically I am surprised when I get gifts, I give out gifts, especially in the Christmas season, without a thought of reciprocity.  I know that some people expect quid pro quo, but not at this time of the year.  I give gifts, and the odd thing is, that I over the years, I have never returned a gift, my philosophy is that if someone went to the effort, I will enjoy the item.

The first bottle that I will discuss is one of my all-time favorite wines that I was introduced to, back when I was a high school student; and I have recommended it to people ever since.  I am talking about the legendary Herederos del Marques de Riscal Rioja Reserva 2012, probably the one Rioja that I have had more of, than any other wine from Spain and it was even accessible back in the early ages when I first discovered wine.  This wine was founded in 1858 by a Spanish diplomat that had lived in Bordeaux and he brought back some concepts that were probably a bit heretical in the day.  The wine became so popular that the wire mesh was the way to insure the quality of the wine, and in fact part of the label was glued to the mesh, now the mesh is just a quaint tradition that is maintained, and I might add that this winery has a fantastic library of their wines going back to the very early days and the wines are still reported as glorious when opened.  The Marques de Riscal is the majority shareholder and winemaker of the company to this day.  This wine is a blend of Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo.  The wine is aged for twelve months in barrels and then is aged an additional three years in the bottle, before it is released, because it is a Reserva.

The second wine from Italy and it is from a famed wine region, and it is Vietti Castiglione Barolo DOCG 2013.  The estate has been producing wines under the Vietti label since 1919 in the Piedmont region and were one of the first to ship to America, and also one of the first to implement single vineyard wines.  This particular wine is pure Nebbiolo and is from four of their vineyards with vines from seven to forty years of age.  All of the vineyards are aged separately and go from twenty-four to thirty months in oak, before they are blended together.  I would venture to guess that this wine needs at least five years to mellow out, if not longer, and then the right meal.  I guess a couple of future articles are necessary.

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A Couple of Gift Items

Posted on January 14, 2019 by thewineraconteur

Now that the Christmas Season is over, and Armenian Christmas is past, it is time to start packing up all of the decorations and wait for another year.  Alas the bright decorations are normally a contrast to the stark white and gray images that one usually encounters in January, but so far this year, and I knock on wood, the winter season has been mild.  It has been the season for me to read about snow south of us, even down to Texas, but fear not, the northern peninsula of this state has snow.  I have also seen the annual sign greeting one to Hell, Michigan that is showing ice and snow.

When I was a boy, my Mother used to receive a box of homemade marzipan hand dipped in chocolate from her Tante in Milwaukee for Christmas.  To this day, I have never encountered a marzipan candy that was as rich and moist as the candy that we used to get, and that my Mother would dole out very sparingly, as she too looked forward to this package.  Alas this memory ended, because my Mother passed away before a couple of weeks before my fifteenth Christmas.   Later on, I remember the local confectionary/ice cream shop in the neighborhood where they made everything from scratch, and I used to watch their little conveyor system that they had which kind of looked like an Erector Set on mild steroids.  I mention them, because every Christmas season they would have a wink, wink offering from the back room only of liquor filled chocolates that they made, they had a set price for a pound box, but they also required the customer to furnish a fifth of the liquor that they wanted used.  That company is long gone, but I do know that one of the restaurants in town actually bought their equipment, especially the ice cream stuff and the recipes, and the ice cream is still being produced.    All of this rambling on about Christmas and chocolate is because I received a box of candy for Christmas, and everyone complains that I am extremely difficult to shop for.  I received a box of Mieszko Cherrissimo Exclusive manufactured in Poland and it contains Chocolate-covered cherries surrounded by either rum, white wine, or Amaretto. The box alone had an old-world smell and aroma, and so far, I have tried one of the rums, and my Bride tried one of the white wines.

I will also mention at this time a bottle of wine that I received that I knew was from France, but that was all I ascertain from a quick scan of the label.  The label read Famille Perrin Les Cornuds Vinsobres AOC 2016.  It all started to make sense when I saw the neckband that had the vintage year on it.  Famille Perrin has the ownership of a famous estate Chateau de Beaucastel in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and they are wine producers and negocient in the Rhone Valley.  They are the owners and partners of another wine from Provence Miraval, which is famous for the actors associated with it, and they also produce another wine that has been around for ages La Vielle Ferme.   Vinsobres is a relatively new sub-appellation from the villages of the Cotes du Rhone and it is for red wines only.  The wine is half Syrah and half Grenache, so I am expecting a bit of boldness when it is opened.  I am like a little kid and I do so enjoy surprises.

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Picking Some Bubbles

Posted on January 12, 2019 by thewineraconteur

What to serve for New Year’s Eve for the big moment?  By now you must have realized that my Bride is a creature of habit, and when she finds something that she likes, she keeps going back, but it does not make it fun, if you are writing a wine blog.  She wanted to see what was out there and we went to our local purveyor of wine The Fine Wine Source in Livonia and they had a couple of sparkling wines to try, since the day was coming.  I have to admit that they greet me when I enter, but it is my Bride that gets all the attention, after all she is the Exchequer of the Realm and the one that will really let the purse strings  loosen when she finds a wine that makes her excited.

We started off with a tasting of G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon Brut NV, a famous Champagne house in Reims, France.  This is the wine that keeps the company afloat, most of the time, the wine is Non-Vintage, but they even declare a vintage year periodically for this wine as well.  This is their signature wine that they try to maintain a consistency year after year, decade after decade, and then at the top of the heap they also offer Cuvée R. Lalou.  The three varietals that are used to make this wine are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier and it is grown on their estate and they also have long time contracts with growers to maintain the taste that they strive for.  They maintain three hundred base wines from a hundred different Cru vineyards to keep that consistency.  This signature wine that is non-vintage still requires twenty months in their cellar to age, before it can be released.  Over the years I have had some great Champagnes, but it is not the first wine that I go for, as I find that some Brut designations are just too dry for me, but this wine has enough of that “brioche” and yeast mix that I have come to expect from a good bottle of bubbles.  The next wine that we tasted from the chilled bin was Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut NV.  They began shipping Champagne to England in 1811 and they were a pioneer in Champagne: one of the first houses to label bottles with the year of vintage, and it was one of the first to make Champagne in the dry brut style. The latter was introduced in 1856, because of the English palate of the time; previously Champagnes had been made with high levels of added sugar or dosage.  After their success with brut Champagne, other houses began to release their own brut wines, and now that is the normal style found in Champagne.  They have one-hundred-sixty-one acres of vineyards each meticulously growing either Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier, though the signature of the house is a more Chardonnay floral leaning wine.  The base wines are aged in the chalk cellars for at least three years before they are released and this wine delivered again what I expected from a classic French Champagne.  We were just going to make our decision when they brought out a third bubbly for us to try and one that was not on the tasting sheet.  They poured us some Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque 2011, which was fifty percent Chardonnay, forty-five percent Pinot Noir and five percent Pinot Meunier.  This wine also had the luxury of having over six years of aging in their cellars before release.  This wine had a wonderfully long finish, but we decided that it was not the taste that most of the guests would expect from a Champagne and I really feel that this is the problem that the great houses face when they declare a vintage.  We decided to go with the Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut NV and there was only a glassful that was left at the end of the night.  We have had some nights in the past where the almost full glass was just left on the tables at the end of the evening.  I think that part of it is, because French Brut is not as dry as American Brut.  At least that is my story and I am sticking with it.

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