Beaujolais Nouveau 2005

It’s here! Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!

In other words, Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived. Let’s face it, unless you have the kind of bucks that can be thrown away for Bordeaux futures, there aren’t too many dates for a wine geek to look forward to … so the third Thursday in November is a fairly special day.

If you missed the post from a few days ago, there’s a rundown answering questions all about Beaujolais Nouveau to help you understand what all the excitement is about. In a nutshell, Beaujolais Nouveau is part celebration, part preview. By tasting the very first wine of the vintage, you should get a fair idea of what the “real” Beaujolais wines will taste like when they are released in the spring/summer of the following year.

That said, let’s get to the tasting notes. The Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2005 shows aromas of fresh, ripe strawberry and red cherry. Fairly simple, but fresh … it certainly smells like a five-week-old wine. On the palate you get the same fresh, ripe strawberry in the flavor, mixed with red and black cherries. It really does taste like biting into a fresh strawberry. However, there is more to the wine than that.

What this wine lacks in complexity it makes up in structure and balance. The 2005 Nouveau is held together with ample, tart acidity and surprisingly ripe tannins: two elements that stay through a remarkably long finish. Why is this so surprising? Because a wine this young shouldn’t have any tannins, and only moderate acidity at best. Is this a wine to compare to a $50 Pinot Noir? Of course not, but it is much better than expected and will hold its own against other ten-dollar wines … at least for the short-term.

The grapegrowers of Beaujolais were telling us that the 2005 wines would be rivaled only by the once-in-a-lifetime “vintage of the sun” 2003. Personally, I dismissed these claims as marketing hype, but after tasting this Nouveau, I’m a believer, and looking forward to the release of Beaujolais-Village and the various Beaujolais Crus in 2006.

Until then, we have Nouveau. Enjoy this wine now through the New Year holiday. Bring a few bottles to Thanksgiving dinner, and drink it with appetizers, your first few bites of turkey, and the cranberry sauce.

Red Wine Review: Robertson Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Ten or fifteen years ago, Australia was land of wine values … until “New World” wines became in vogue and prices skyrocketed. Then the great unknown red wine values came from Chile and Argentina; however that secret is out as well and the prices of South American wines have gone up steadily as people discovered how good there are. The next great secret from the Southern Hemisphere may well be from South Africa, which is best known for the band-aid wine, Pinotage, but also produces other fine reds at affordable prices. For example, this Cabernet Sauvignon from Robertson Winery. If Australia still made a wine under ten bucks, this is what it would taste like.

Nose: Rich, full, wide open, complex nose of ripe red and black berry fruits, earth, menthol, tobacco, and spice.

Palate: Rich, full ripe fruit upfront, with some earth and vanilla spice. Smooth texture, a touch hot in the finish, which turns to grapey cassis in flavor. Has decent acidity and mild to medium tannins, but not quite enough structure to stand up to a cheeseburger. Will be more enjoyable on its own or with not-as-fatty dishes.

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White Wine Review: Basa Rueda Blanco

Another Great White Wine Value from Spain

Real deal price: $7.99

A few weeks back you read about Las Brisas Rueda, a white wine from an area in Spain northwest of Madrid. That wine made enough of an impression on my palate to try another white from the same region: Basa Rueda Blanco. Once again, an excellent white wine value has been discovered.

Basa Rueda has a vibrant nose of green unripe fruit with a distinct grassiness characteristic of Sauvignon Blanc. That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, as Sauvignon is planted in the DO Rueda region and is part of this wine’s blend (it also contains Spain’s own Verdejo and Viura).
Sour granny smith apple, zesty lime/citrus, and a slightly grassy/vegetal element mark the flavor of this wine, which has a gush of tart acidity and a crystal clean finish. Actually the finish reminds me of original flavor Gatorade gum: limey citrus flavor with a chalky, thirst quenching tartness. Alcohol is mild, hardly noticeable, yet the wine has surprising body for a light white. Drink it ice cold as a refreshing aperitif, or match with simply prepared white meats (poultry, pork), vegan dishes, mildly seasoned salads.

For the geeks (and conversation): Basa Rueda’s winemaker is Telmo Rodriguez, considered by many wine experts to be Spain’s up-and-coming enologist. A few things make him special, notably his dedication to preserving the terroir in wines and believing that winemaking begins in the vineyard. As a result, he chooses indigenous grapes from old vines that produce extremely low yields. He’s also a proponent of biodynamic methods; in other words, using natural / organic products in growing vines. Biodynamism leads to wines that achieve a pure, true expression of their place of origin.

Score: 91 points
a-8 t-7 b-8 fc-8 v-10

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Wine Review: Lungarotti Rubesco Rosso di Torgiano 2000

A Super Umbrian
N: Deep black fruit and earth. Some hints of spice and berry fruit.

P: Ripe black and red berry fruits. Well structured, with good flavor through the midpalate and an unusually long and balanced finish. Somewhat green and earthy, in an attractive way, with a touch of mild tobacco. Though it is big and ripe with fruit, it is simultaneously soft in the mouth: tannins and acidity firmly hold the fruit in place, and hardly an afterthought until the fruit finally fades away. I stole this out of a discount bin for around ten bucks — it is still a bargain for double the price. [Read more]

Wine Review: Luis Felipe Edwards Carmenere 2003

$7.99

N: Open. Earthy. Very earthy. We’re talking dirt, wet leaves, maybe a hint of tobacco and vegetation.

P: Ripe fruit and earth. Black pepper, black fruits, touches of tobacco. Reminds me of a dirty merlot. Distinctive, non-commercial flavor. Tannins are mild to medium, acidity is appropriate: enough for food, not too much to be overbearing. Alcohol is mild to medium and adds structure.

This is a kickass wine for the price, though not everyone will love the earthy character that melds with the black berry fruit. Try it, you’ll like it.

Enjoy with beef-based and wild mushroom dishes, or a plate of cheese.

a-8 t-8 b-8 fc-7 v-10

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Hirsch Veltliner #1 2004

Gruner Veltliner is a little-known wine outside Austria, unless you are a fairly advanced cork dork. That’s too bad, because it is a wonderfully crisp, light, fruity wine that goes with just about anything. It’s also a refreshing quencher for barbecues, picnics, and hot summer nights. One excellent and affordable example is Hirsch “Veltliner #1″, which exemplifies the typically clean, character of Gruner Veltliner, adding an attractive tartness, almost-sweet fruit, and a touch of mineral. A nice extra is that this wine comes with a screw-top, so you can stick it back in the fridge and enjoy it over several days. In fact, I’ve been drinking this particular bottle for over a week, and it has not lost any freshness. Find it for around ten to thirteen bucks. (In the NY-Metro area it’s carried by Michael Skurnik, a very reputable importer with a particularly excellent concentration in Austrian and German wines.)

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Wrongo Dongo

Real deal price: 8.99

N: Wide-open, superripe berry fruit. Blackberries, raspberries, boysenberries.

P: Upfront ripe berry fruit. Chunks of blackberry, black cherry, and vanilla oak, with a line of chocolate licorice. Smooth texture. Drying acidity in the midpalate and sweet ripe tannins in the finish, which is attractive and longer than expected. Matched nicely with turkey tacos, should do well with other Mexican dishes, mild Indian cuisine, and simple fare such as burgers and barbecue chicken.

In some areas of the country, you may find this at 5.99 or 6.99, in which case it is an absolute steal.

A-8 T-8 B-8 FC-8 V-10

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