June 2007

Chateau Calissanne Rose Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence 2006

It’s the season of pink wines, and here is an ideal introduction to the world of fine rose.

This example comes from the southern region of France, in the storybook area of Provence. Surely you’d recognize the bright, rich colors associated with the area, or know by smell the herbs d’Provence (such as lavender), or heard stories of the rich and famous on their jaunts in Provence and to nearby Nice and Monaco. Well now you can add pink wine to your “book” on the region, as it is one of the most prolific producers of rose.

Chateau Calissanne consistently produces a clean, flavorful rose, and their 2006 bottling is in line with what many have come to expect from the winery. The wine shows a bright, dark pink color, with magenta highlights, and the nose offers ripe strawberry, watermelon candy, and raspberry. It’s very smooth on the palate — smooth as glass — with flavors of ripe red raspberry, white cherry, fresh pomegranate, some juicy jolly rancher watermelon candy. The acidity is medium, in good balance with the fruit and appropriately high for food matching. Tannins are mild. It’s just a touch hot on the finish, but not overbearing, and also has strawberry flavor before disappearing from the palate. A good match for leaner meats, such as chicken, fish, pork, or with vegetarian dishes (I enjoyed it with chicken, avocado, bacon, and tomato on 12-grain bread), and a good barbecue wine, as it will match nicely with grilled veggies, shish kebabs, bbq spare ribs, grilled chicken . Heck, it’s even a fine match for many Asian-inspired preparations (i.e., teriyaki, mild curries).

Get it while it’s fresh and expressing peak fruitiness — at about twelve bucks it is a good value and a no-brainer for food matching.

a-7 t-7 b-8 fc-10 v-8 ~ 90 Points

Importer: Petit Pois Corp. T/A Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ

Chateau Calissanne website

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Castello di Farnetella Chianti Colli Senesi 2004

This is one of those wines that likely gets killed in the sterile sanctum of a big wine magazine tasting room — tasted all alone, without food. Because in fact it is mediocre at best when imbibed solo. However, ten-dollar Chianti is not meant to be a wine to be contemplated by the fire. Rather, Chianti — and specifically low-priced Chianti — is supposed to be a daily drinker at the dinner table. And this wine passes the table test with flying colors.

Mild black fruit, pepper, and unidentified herb aromas barely beget interest, but the sour red and black cherry flavors on the palate are an ideal match for marinara sauce. Acidity is appropriately high: tart and drying to the hungry palate, but a perfect partner to a mouth filled with food. A clean and easy quaffer, and versatile enough for a variety of victuals. As mentioned previously, don’t drink it by itself. But do partake it on the table, with spaghetti, chicken parm, meatballs, eggplant, or anything else drowned in marinara or other red sauce. Will be equally interesting paired with high-acid or fatty dishes, so try it with tomato-based preparations (chicken cacciatore?), fatty foods, and anything dominated by cheese (mac and cheese, hunks of parm-reggiano, grilled cheese and tomato).

a-7 t-7 b-7 fc-9 v-9 ~ 89 Points

Importer: Neil Empson

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Once in a while, you may see a label announce that the wine is “unfiltered”. This does not mean the winemaker was smoking a Camel cigarette when the wine was bottled, nor does it mean that you need to pour the wine through a coffee filter before drinking it. Basically, it’s an explanation for the wine’s lack of clarity.

For the last 25 or so years, wineries have used fining and filtration techniques to make a wine appear crystal-clear. This makes for a more attractive and trustworthy product. Most wines sold at retail today are filtered, and as a result you can see right through them (this is most obvious with white wines).

A wine is filtered in one or more more of several ways. For example, sterile filtration uses micropore filters, which are fine enough to remove yeast cells, and thus prevent a second fermentation inside the bottle. On the other hand, depth (or sheet) filtration is not unlike the use of a coffee filter, though is a bit more sophisticated than the typical #4 cone you use in your coffeemaker. The process relies on a thick layer of fine material (diatomaceous earth, cellulose powder, perlite, etc.) to trap and remove small particles. There are other methods as well — membrane filtration is common — and there are pros and cons for each process. Regardless of the way it’s done, the goal is to remove any undesirable elements and produce a stable, clear liquid.

However, these filtering processes may also remove elements that affect the flavors and aromas of a wine, so some winemakers choose not to filter. They believe that filtering strips the wine of its true character, and employ other methods of getting the wine as clear as possible (racking, cold stabilization, and other old-school techniques are the alternative). There are also wineries that avoid filtering — or keep it to an absolute minimum — to maintain organic status.

Does an unfiltered wine taste better than a filtered one? Maybe — it all depends on the individual. For many, it can be more of a visual thing than a flavor issue. Some people are put off by a wine that is not completely clear, while others feel a cloudy wine is more “natural”.

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Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir Carneros 2005

Many people just getting into wine find their way to Robert Mondavi — particularly the under-$10 bottles tabbed “Private Selection” and the soda-pop formulas packaged under the Woodbridge label.

As such, I’ve avoided everything “Mondavi” on the priniciple that if its made by a mass production giant, it can’t be good.

But then, that would make ME a snob, wouldn’t it? And we can’t have that.

So herewith a review of Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir - Carneros, part of the entry level line of the “serious” Mondavi wines.

Open nose filled with forward, ripe raspberry fruit, touch of spice, and hint of earth. Smooth texture on the palate, with slightly green / unripe red berry fruit showing upfront. A good dose of spice and mild sweet earth arrives in the midpalate to even out the flavor, followed by mild tannins and decent acidity that carries the wine through the finish. The intent of this wine seems to be somewhere between Burgundian and New World in character, and if that’s the case then the wine is a success. It has just enough upfront fruit and spice to please a New World palate, yet also harks back to Old World Pinot Noir. It may benefit from a year in the cellar — but don’t hold it for more than that. Polished and clean, with a pleasant aftertaste, and enough structure to be compatible with lean dishes. Try it with mildly seasoned chicken and pork chops, fish (salmon, trout, snapper), turkey, and vegetarian dishes (lentils and other legumes). Aside from the low-production beauties from esoteric producers, it will be difficult to find a better Pinot Noir at this price point.

a-8 t-7 b-8 fc-7 v-7 ~ 87 Points

Winery website: Robert Mondavi

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Wine: Cantina Rotaliana di Mezzolombardo Teroldego Rotaliano

Ah, Teroldego … a bright and happy wine with a serious side.

Teroldego is a fairly unknown grape outside of north Trentino, a region in northern Italy that is better known for a white wine called Pinot Grigio. Indeed, you’ll have a hard time finding Teroldego in the USA, even in the finest wine shops. However, if you do see it, it is well worth picking up.

Teroldego Rotaliano is the wine you would have if you crossed a Beaujolais Cru with a Chianti Classico – bright, ripe, fruity, and fun, yet with enough structure to be contemplated. If Chianti were less acidic, it would be Teroldego. If Beaujolais Cru had a rustic wall of tannin, it would be Teroldego.

This particular Teroldego — from Cantina Rotaliana di Mezzolombardo — is typical, showing bright, ripe black cherry, distinct sweet earth and tobacco on the nose. In the mouth you get more cherries — black and red — as well as black raspberry, earth, and a touch of spice, all wrapped with ample acidity and medium tannins. A smooth texture carries the wine with polish. The finish leans toward the acidity and tannins, and the fruit mellows to a pleasantly bitter flavor mixed with black fruit. It’s an ideal accompaniment for a wide variety of foods, though you may want to drink it with dishes on the leaner side. For example, any dishes where you substitute ground turkey for beef, gamey fish, vegetarian dishes, or boldly seasoned poultry and pork. At about twelve bucks, it’s a good value.

a-8 t-8 b-9 fc-9 v-7 ~ 91 Points

Importer: Vias Wine

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OK, you have four days left to get something for Father’s Day. If you don’t have the time to stop at the mall between now and Sunday, you still have 2 days to order something online That said, get moving now.

Follow these links for wine-themed Father’s Day gifts:

Wine Ties
What else for Father’s Day, than a tie?

High-end Corkscrews
Dad won’t pay more than ten bucks for a corkscrew, right? Spoil him with one of these.

Riedel Wine Glasses
Again, if your dad won’t shell out the dough for real lead crystal, it’s up to you.

Wine Decanters
Aren’t you tired of seeing dad use that old Inglenook carafe as a decanter? Get him something exquisite!

And the previous post gave you the idea of a Restaurant Gift Certificate. Can I make this any easier for you? Now go buy something for your dad!

FYI: A tiny portion of the sales goes toward keeping WineWeekly.com’s server fees paid. Most of what is left over after those are paid, will go to charity.

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Still trying to figure out a gift for dad for Father’s Day? How about dinner? Every dad likes to eat, and eat well, right?

Well check this out: Restaurant.com is offering 50% off all dining certificates between now and Father’s Day — plus, you will get a free $15 Lobster Gram gift certificate with EVERY Restaurant.com purchase. Unlike most promotions, you get to combine these two if you want. So in other words, you can work it out so both you AND your dad get a gift — pretty cool, eh?

Follow either of these links to take advantage of the offers:

Dad’s Day Sale. All Dining Certificates are an extra 50% off! Use code DAD at checkout. Expires 6-17-2007.

FREE $15 Lobster Gram gift certificate with EVERY Restaurant.com purchase. Promo code will appear on the confirmation page. Exp. 6-30-07.

Follow those links and see if there is a gift certificate available to an appropriate restaurant for your dad, grand-dad, or father-in-law. Meantime, I’ll be scouring for more offers and deals for Father’s Day.

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Generally speaking, the personalized service you get from a GOOD wine shop cannot be matched by an online retailer. There’s something to be said for face-to-face interaction with a human being who knows something about the wines on the shelf. Add in the touchy-feely enjoyment of picking up and handling bottles, and it’s next to impossible to re-create the experience through a website.

However, there are some online wine retailers who do as well a job as can be done with the virtual process. In my opinion, the key is not to try to emulate the traditional retail experience but rather to make the most of modern technology to create a new / alternative way of selling.

Such is the case with Porthos.com, a site that specifically caters to Napa and Sonoma wine fans. That’s an interesting and effective slant — targeting a very narrow area on the world wine map. Let’s face it, any run-of-the-mill online wine shop is going to have a hard time beating the varied selection and pricing of, say, a Wine.com, WineLibrary.com, or SamsWine.com. But Porthos can stake their claim as “the” place for high-end Napa and Sonoma wines — if that’s what you’re in to.

Naturally, Porthos carries California’s finest, with bottles from well-known estates such as BV, Clos du Val, Far Niente, Etude, Dominus, Duckhorn, Chateau Montelena, and Cain Five, to the lesser-known, “cult” wineries such as Block 16, Barnett, Leeuwin, Newton, Coho, and Pahlmeyer — to name a few. There isn’t a dog in the bunch, a stark contrast to the many “faux-boutique” online retailers that push off unknown, ordinary wines as “undiscovered values”.

What I really like about Porthos.com is the organization of the site. Because their selection is limited, it’s easy and enjoyable to browse. In particular, the “Best Buys Under $30” and “Staff Picks” include intriguing wines that even a geek will appreciate. Too often on other sites, I’m overwhelmed by the dozens and dozens of choices per varietal — while selection is nice, sometimes you just want someone to tell you “here, try this, it’s good stuff.” Based on what Porthos has currently put together in their “best buys”, mixed packs, and “staff picks”, I think they can be trusted.

Last point: though they specialize in Napa and Sonoma, Porthos does have a few bottles from other areas, and also offers a very limited selection of “Passport International Wines“. Again, I have to say that I like what they’ve chosen; for example, their current choices include two bottles from Chateau Routas — who I think makes some of the best pink wine in the world — and a Cahors from Clos La Coutale (IMHO, one of the best bangs for your buck when it comes to Cahors).

So if you are into the wines of Sonoma and Napa counties, I suggest you at least take a browse of Porthos.com and see for yourself. And please, leave your comments here on what you think of their selections and service.

(By the way, if you didn’t major in English Lit in college, you may not know what “Porthos” means. Porthos is the name of one of the “Three Musketeers” — specifically, the wild and amiable, wine-drinking musketeer — from the Alexandre Dumas novel.)

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With the label featuring a black and white photo of a sweet Labrador Retriever, how could one possibly leave this bottle on the shelf?

I’m not clear on exactly who makes this wine — the label lists both Vinum Cellars and Wilson Vineyards, and states that the wine is from Clarksburg, California. I’m guessing that Vinum Cellars is the producer, and Wilson Vineyards is the winegrower?

Anyway, who or where it comes from matters not … it is a very enjoyable wine: polished, smooth, well-structured, and ready to drink.

The nose is fairly closed at first, but if you let the wine sit in the glass it will eventually offer inviting aromas of sweet black raspberry, blueberry, a touch of tar and hints of black cassis and prune. In the mouth the first thing you notice is a smooth-as-glass texture, which carries forward, ripe red and black fruits — plum, raspberry, some touches of herb, earth, and pepper, as well as a delicious spicy component that resembles cardamom, cocoa or vanilla. Acidity and tannins are at medium to medium-high levels, and in good proportion to the juicy, almost jammy flavors. Fairly enjoyable on its own, this wine really finds its potential next to a ribeye or skirt steak. Will also do well with other grilled meats, dry cheeses, and short ribs. Added bonus: a portion of the profits for this wine go to the winery’s local animal shelter. At somewhere between 10 and 13 dollars, this is a very good value.

a-8 t-9 b-9 fc-7 v-8 ~ 91 Points

Website: Vinum Cellars

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Could there be a better time of year?

The weather is perfect, school is nearly out, baseball season’s in full swing, and the rose wines have arrived.

If you’ve never been “tickled pink” by the youthful selections available in your local wine shop during the late spring, this year is as good a time as any to start trying rose-colored wines through crystal-clear glasses. An ideal bottle to begin with is this Provencal example: Mas de Gourgonnier Rose Les Baux de Provence 2006 — a consistently tasty pink wine and one of my annual favorites.

Made from about 60% Grenache and completed with a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, the color is a bright, dark pink, almost cherry. Though the nose will eventually open up, right now, it is somewhat subdued, offering just a hint of strawberry and pear, belying the vibrant, bright fruit you get in the mouth. Flavors of fresh strawberry, pear, sweet pink grapefruit, cranberry, watermelon, pomegranate, a touch of citrus, and red currant dance on the palate, carried by a good edge of racy acidity and juicy, mild tannins. The finish is very pleasant and fairly well balanced, eventually leaving lingering tastes of sour red cherry, red currants, pomegranate, and a hint of strawberry. A perfect match for food, enjoy it with spicy foods, Indian cuisine, salads, fish, chicken, pork, bbq ribs or bbq chicken — just about anything. As with most quality rose wines, don’t drink this too cold, or you’ll miss all the fun. At about twelve bucks, this is a good value.

a-7 t-7 b-10 fc-10 v-8 ~ 92 points

Importer: Michael Skurnik Wines

Mas de Gourgonnier shelf talker available through DownloadPOS

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