The Wellesley Wine Press

Spring 2012 WWP Wine Index: Who's Hot? Who's Cold?

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:04:00 +0000

HOT

COLD

Bordeaux
Chardonnay
2008-2011 Napa Cabs
2010 California Zinfandel
Sea Smoke
Scarecrow
Rhys
2009 Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Carlisle
Malbec

Rankings determined by what I'm hearing about, reading about, and buying. The Hottest or Coldest entities are ranked No. 1.

A retweet I read the other day by @nvwineandcigar brought back some terrific memories of collecting baseball cards when I was a kid:

"1984 ‪#Reds‬ rookie Eric Davis makes his ‪#MLB‬ debut and must wear a numberless jersey when Cincinnati forgets to pack an extra road uniforms."

I immediately went up to our attic and got out two medium-sized boxes of baseball cards and other memorabilia that represented the best five percent I collected from 1988-1991. It's unfortunate my interest coincided with a time when a glut of cards flooded the market and the early days of the steroid scandal. These cards could have been worth something otherwise!

Nevertheless we had a great time pouring over the cards.

The piece of memorabilia that brought back the most pleasant memories -- quite unexpectedly -- was an old issue of Beckett Baseball Card monthly. It was the one with the black and white photo of Bo Jackson on the cover in shoulder pads with a baseball bat over his shoulders. I saved that issue, I guess, because it was going to be valuable.

Leafing through the magazine, I was reminded of the many similarities between baseball cards and wine exploration. The price guide, as if anyone could fetch the prices they quoted, reminds me of the numerical ratings at the back of Spectator. The interest in catching cards from rising stars before they became too expensive is similar to discovering hot new producers before their mailing lists are full. The cards are produced each year, like vintages of wine. The list goes on and on.

But the single best page in the magazine, that I'd completely forgotten about, was the Weather Report. A completely arbitrary list of who and what was Hot and Cold. A combination of rising stars, reliable veterans, collectible sets, and disappointing players.

Readers loved to read and react to the list as it was updated each month. You were so savvy to have caught a player before he debuted on the list with a "NR" (not previously ranked). And you were indignant when your favorites fell from glory.

Like it or not, the list seemed to have its finger on the pulse of the hobby. So I thought it would be fun to create the same sort of list for wine.

Should outs to @AndyA3 @MoralBeast @wineduggery and @jmfran1 for sharing their thoughts already.

Methodology

My intent with this list is to capture wine producers/categories/regions/stories that are surging in popularity -or- falling out of favor for one reason or another. Wineries with mailing lists that are hard to crack. Winemakers who seem to have the magic touch. Categories that people are talking about this season. Reliable producers who never seem to fall out of fashion. Wineries who, if their wines were offered by a retailer, would cause you to stop what you're doing and take note. Wines you hardly ever see at retail.

Categories that are being ignored because they present a hard-to-like style or their value equation doesn't add up. Wineries that are popular with many but risk falling from their lofty perches if they can't continue to deliver.

The Bottom Line

I'll acknowledge: This list is biased towards my preferences and the categories I pay attention to. But I tried to include entries I hear people talking about that I don't care for myself.

Next time I update the list I'll provide commentary on the actual picks rather than taking a stroll down memory lane. I hope you enjoy this installment.

What do you think? What wines are hot lately? Which are cold?

Leave a comment or drop me an e-mail: wellesleywinepress@gmail.com
I'd love to hear from you.

Tasting Report: 2010 Kutch Pinot Noir

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:20:00 +0000

With wine, the path of discovery can be as enjoyable as tasting the beverage itself. As enthusiasts we oscillate between depth and breadth: We temporarily stop and dive deep into a category until another region catches our attention.

For me, I've been stuck on California Pinot Noir for a couple years. And it's unclear how long it will be before I come up for air.

Within California Pinot, there seems to be a battle between lean and ripe. Between producing nuanced wines that let the vineyards speak for themselves vs. aiming to produce blockbuster wines. Within this dichotomy, even after reading several articles, it was unclear to me where Kutch Wines fits in.

38 year old Jamie Kutch worked on Wall Street before cashing in and pursuing his dream of producing wine. After being impressed with wines from producers like Kosta Browne and A.P. Vin he reached out to them for guidance - and was welcomed with open arms. A far cry from the competitive financial world he left behind.

He got his start producing wines at Kosta Browne so you'd think his style would run towards ripeness. But you'd be wrong. After producing the 2005 vintage at KB he set out on his own and developed a minimalist philosophy which favors earlier picking. But like Michael Browne he prefers to keep racking -- the transfer of wine from one container to another to remove sediment -- to a minimum. The result can be a tremendous creamy, velvety mouthfeel. But only if you can still produce a wine with good clarity and avoid rotten egg aromas from dead yeast along the way.

When I hear about California producers aiming for balance I sometimes fear they'll go too far. That the wines will be under-ripe and hard to enjoy. My favorite producers find that intersection between pure fruit flavors, the right amount of ripeness, and ultimately find a way to produce a delicious enjoyable glass of wine.

Kutch only produces Pinot Noir from Sonoma at this point. The appelation wines -- from the Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley -- retail for $39. The single vineyard wines sell for $50. But good luck finding them at retail. Considering the modest production levels and the quality here I think these wines a good value.

The best way to buy them is by spending a couple years on their mailing list. I've on the list about a year so far. No dice. Thankfully a friend shared a couple bottles of his recent allocation. Here are my notes on one of their 2010s:

2010 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
13.9% Alcohol
240 Cases produced
$39

There's a purity of fruit and freshness here that's tremendously appealing. Light-medium bodied visually with perfectly ripe strawberries dominant and supporting tart cherry notes. It's subtle, but along with mild orange peel notes, supporting herabaceous aromatics and flavors add a perfect touch of earthy compleixty. Not an off note in the bottle. I like this. A lot. A tremendous introduction to the producer.

93/100 WWP: Outstanding

Further Reading:

Hop on the Kutch mailing list by visting http://kutchwines.com

Event Report: 2012 Wine Spectator Grand Tour Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:46:00 +0000

This is a guest post from my friend Joegish from CellarTracker.

Being an avid reader of the WWP and a fan of Robert on Cellar Tracker, I offered up to write a few notes for him on the recent Cinco de Mayo Wine Spectator Grand Tasting event held in Las Vegas at The Mirage. My wife and I attended the event with 2 other couples (one from Connecticut and one from California) who are all wine enthusiasts. We approached this event with 2 objectives:

Taste wines that are not available or that are too expensive for our budget (I am a big fan of the WWP QPR tool)
Taste wines that are either vertical extensions or from a winery whose products we like or may want to purchase.

Pre-Tasting

Because our group decided wine was our focus and food was secondary, we chose not to rely on the food at the tasting. This decision was also influenced by the unknown of how The Mirage would handle the event, given that this was a new venue. There were also some comments written on Cellar Tracker that made us wonder how crowded the event would be.

The information provided by Wine Spectator was very limited before the tasting. The only real information available was a list of participating wineries, with the actual wines being poured not disclosed before the event. Given that this was the third (and final) Grand Tasting event, some of the wines being poured were disclosed in other blogs, but the information was sketchy at best. This severely limited our ability to plan specific wines to taste. Personally, I view this lack of information as the only significant opportunity for improvement for the event.

The Wait and Entry

We arrived about 35 minutes before the event started and were approximately 400 people behind the front of the line. Although the ventilation was lacking, we survived the wait and entered the tasting hall with no issues. The entrance was actually rather speedy, considering the logistics involved. We were given a pen, a handy notebook with all the wineries and wines being served, and a souvenir Riedel glass upon entrance.

If you have ever been to a trade show, you know how this event was set up. Two hundred 8x10 booths set up in 8 aisles. A very logical organization by region and varietal made it simple to understand and find wines. Food and tables were at the one end of the enormous hall. Other than the entrance wait, the only real crowd to be found the rest of the night was for the 1999 Ch. Margaux being poured. I am sure it is delicious; however, we skipped that line for the entire evening.

We quickly discovered that there was plenty of time to taste whatever wines you wanted, so there was really no need to hurry. The food was set up as a buffet, and was rather generous with carving stations, pasta stations, etc., set up in a logical perimeter around the tables. There was no need to eat beforehand and the quality of the food seemed rather excellent.

The Wines

After a quick review of the notebook, we found at least 6 wines for our “must taste” list:

2009 Ch. Pontet-Canet Pauillac (WS 96 $180)
Very nice young Bordeaux. Lots of complexity and fruit. I would give this a 92 (interesting to me, this is the same as I rated the 2009 Ch. Lillian Ladouys at $24/bottle).

2009 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Special Select (WS 93 $130)
I was very excited to see this wine as I bought a few bottles of it, but had not tried it. Wow, what a fruit bomb. Rather shocking for a Caymus Special Select – I hope the fruit fades and other flavors develop over time. Hardly even tasted like a cab blend to me.
Editor's Note: This aligns almost exactly with my notes on this vintage from a recent retrospective tasting of Caymus Special Selection.

2008 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Georges Latour Private Reserve (WS 93 $125)
I have tried these in the past and always thought them to be over-oaked. Same with this vintage. Pass. Maybe after 10 years in the cellar.....

2008 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2008 (WS 93 $135)
I had read good things about Merus and wanted to try their cabernet. This wine did not disappoint. Complexity, depth, finish - what a cabernet. This was the first wine I tasted that I would have rated higher than WS. My WOTN. A 95 in my book and worth seeking out.

2010 Kosta Browne Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (Not yet rated)
This was the only wine I noticed that had not been rated yet by WS. I'll forgive WS, given that KB produced their WOTY last year. Nice pinot noir, full bodied and relatively complex. I would buy some if it were available under $50...but would probably pass on it at a higher price and would definitely not stock up on it. I'd rate it a 92.

2008 Joseph Phelps Insignia (WS 94 $225)
Way too young to drink yet. Some complexity and the finish was pleasant, but the fruit was overwhelmed by oak. Would not drink for at least 8-10 years.

Other Wines that Caught my Eye

2007 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino (WS 94 $110)
I have a bottle of this in my basement. Now I know why I wrote a 2020 on the bottle tag. Perhaps I should change that to 2030 or save it in my will for one of my children....talk about tannic. I could not drink it.

As a matter of fact, I tried numerous tannic oak bombs that are just not my style (2009 Ornellaia, 2005 La Poderina, 2009 Setti Ponti Oreno, et al. These are just way too young to taste...I really do not understand how people can rate these wines in their youth and I found them generally undrinkable at this point. Bummer.

Being a pinot noir fan, I think I tried all of the pinots at the tasting. A couple that stood out for me were:

2010 Siduri Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella's Vinyard - in my book as good as the Kosta Browne served in the booth next door.

2008 Domaine Drouhin Laurene - my favorite Oregon wine of the night

2008 Domaine Serene Evanstad Reserve - I have a few bottles of the 07, and the 08 is still a little rough at this point.

2009 Elk Cove Willamette Valley - quite nice, but pretty standard.

2008 King Estate Eola-Amity Hills Roserock Vineyard - I really liked this one, but found it odd that only three hundred 6 packs were produced...why would you feature this at a WS Grand Tasting? FYI, WS rated this one a 95.

Other Wines I Thought were Very Good

2008 Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepages

2008 DeLille Doyene

2005 Yalumba Shiraz Barossa The Octavius

2009 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Jack's Masterpiece - this was my #2 WOTN. We learned it actually comes from the Sacrashe Vineyard in Napa Valley. We have enjoyed many cabernets from that vineyard in the past.

2009 Two Hands Lily's Garden McLaren Vale Shiraz Delicious. Personally, I would probably still go for the 09 Angel’s Share and Gnarly Dudes from Two Hands. Those 2 are both delicious and very drinkable right now.

We did not try many white wines (one of our friends did love the 2010 Vina Nora Rias Baixas Nora de Neve), but did manage a few trips over to the Champagne and dessert wines rows and tried a few of these as well. The favorites of the night were the Schramsberg Reserve North Coast 2004, Luis Roederer Brut Champagne Premier NV, Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne 2004, and the Moet & Chandon Brut Champagne Imperial NV.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Although we tried to pace ourselves, spit when possible, and utilized the full 3 hours, we still only tried about half of the wines we would have liked. It was a little frustrating to think of the many, many highly rated wines that we just could not taste. Perhaps next year, our goal will be to try 30 wines we know nothing about...

A lot of the WS staff attended and were fun to talk with. Tim Fish, Thomas Matthews, and James Laube were all there and chatting it up with attendees. We met a lot of interesting people and winemakers.

Overall, the opportunity to try many different styles of high scoring wines was pretty amazing. The venue was very comfortable and I would recommend attending - the $200 was money well spent.

Further Reading: 2011 Wine Spectator Grand Tour Boston Event Report

Editor's Note: My sincere thanks for this guest post! I think a lot of you will agree - it's hard to tell his writing style from mine and this provided excellent insight into an event we all would have enjoyed.

Question of the Day: Did you attend any of the Wine Spectator Grand Tour events this year? They were also held in New York City and Washington DC. If so, what did you think? If not, where do you think Spectator should visit next year?

Lot18: Schott Zwiesel Forte Burgundy Wine Glasses

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:09:00 +0000

Back in 2009, Wine Spectator Senior Editor James Laube wrote a blog post about what he considered the perfect one-size-fits-all everyday wine glass. A Wine Spectator online subscription is required to read the full post, but the glass he highlighted was "the Tritan Burgundy Glass by Schott Zwiesel 'Forte' (model 8465/140)".

Even with the model number, it's a little tricky pinning down the exact glasses he was talking about. Kind of like tracking down a recommendation for a German Riesling with all the precise descriptors on the label - it's challenging. Let's try break it down:

Schott Zwiesel is the manufacturer
Forte is the line
Tritan is the glass technology they use across a number of their lines
Burgundy is the shape of the glass

The glass shape (and more importantly the size of the glass with that shape) is where things become most ambiguous. If you look on Amazon.com's listing for these glasses they offer two glass shapes:

A "Claret Burgundy" glass which is 24.7-ounce capacity; 8.7-inch tall, 4.4-inch wide
A "Burgundy" glass which is 18.3-ounce capacity; 8-inch tall, 4-inch wide

I think you want the larger 24.7-ounce glass, so the Claret Burgundy is the one to get. The smaller glasses are fine, but for me these slightly larger glasses are just right.

Now, if you Google "schott zwiesel 8465/140" the first thing you'll hit is K&L Wine offering these - but the size they quote is 8 5/8" tall, 21.1 oz. capacity. What the heck? That's in between the two sizes offered on Amazon. It's unclear whether there was once one size for Schott Zwiesel's Burgundy glass and they subsequently created a larger and a smaller variant.

At any rate - my point in telling you all this is that Lot18 has these glasses this week.

They're offering six 24.7 ounce Schott Zwiesel Forte Burgundy glasses this week. They confirm (via Twitter) that these are the 140 models you want. $59.99 with $9.99 shipping. Add a second item (wine or whatever they sell) and shipping becomes free.

This may be a good deal if you happen to have some Lot18 referral credits clanging around - especially if you live in a state with tight wine shipping restrictions.

If you're not already signed up with Lot18, use this link for $10 off your first order:

http://www.lot18.com/offer/4350259674689c3fe5501cbde53f42c5/user/1572

Compare the price to what's available on Amazon.com to make sure you're getting a deal:

Rue La La: $20 for $40 at Wine.com (ends this morning!)

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:03:00 +0000

UPDATE: This offer has expired.

Deal site Rue La La is running a $20 for $40 for Wine.com but you've got to act fast. The sale ends at 11:00 am EDT today (Sunday, May 13th 2012).

The usual restrictions apply to this offer - most meaningfully that the voucher can't be applied to the price of shipping.

If you're not yet a member of Rue La La sign up and get $10 off your first order, bringing the price down to $10:

http://ruelala.com/invite/winepress

Then head over to Wine.com to use your voucher. Check out the 2010 Belle Glos Meiomi Pinot Noir- always enjoyable and for my money the best $20 Pinot Noir on the market today.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Littorai Visit and Tasting Report

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:51:00 +0000

Littorai is a Sonoma based winery focused on the sustainable production of high end Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Founded in 1993 by Heidi and Ted Lemon, they seek out sites with outstanding potential then let those vineyards reveal their unique character in the wines they produce.

I visited Littorai a month or so ago and got a chance to see first hand what makes them special. When you talk about "off the beaten path" in Sonoma it has an entirely different meaning than in Napa. If you think a small mailbox with a family name is charming, try visiting Littorai. They take take it to the next level. Ask for a visit and you'll be greeted with directions and a gate access code for a property you'd never find on your own with no signage whatsoever.

Founder, owner, and head winemaker Ted Lemon can seem like the grown-up in the room when extolling the virtues of terroir driven wines, balance, and the potential for California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. What resonated with me about his message is that he's not looking simply to emulate Burgundy in California. He's looking to embrace the unique characteristics and capabilities of each site and deliver wines that speak purely to that site.

When I visited I met with assistant winemaker John Wilson who most recently worked with highly regarded Thomas Rivers Brown of Schrader/Outpost/Rivers Marie fame. He took me for a tour around the thirty acre site - only three of which is dedicated to vines in the form of The Pivot vineyard. The site is also home to Littorai's winery which is built with hay bale walls and features gravity flow wine movement.

We tasted through the Littorai Chardonnays first. Ted Lemon has a great line in the video embedded below along the lines of "Chardonnay's first duty is to make you forget red wine." These white wines were brilliant and delicious and made me think I should drink more white wine - especially Chardonnay of this style. They're flavorful and powerful yet elegant and light. Really pretty.

The Pinot Noirs showed fabulously as well, each with different characteristics that rang true to the Littorai focus of letting sites speak for themselves. All of the Littorai single vineyard Pinot Noirs are made exactly the same way. The only difference is the site.

My only complaint with the tasting experience is that it was a little chilly so it was hard to differentiate the Pinots as much as I'd have liked to. The room felt south of 55F and I like to taste Pinot in the low to mid 60Fs.

When I got home I had a chance to sit down and spend some quality time with a 2010 Littorai Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. It was a beauty. Here are my thoughts on that wine:

2010 Littorai Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
13.3% alcohol
$38

Aromatically expressive immediately upon opening with rounded edges of strawberry and raspberry fruit, spice box, and tea notes. Elegant on the palate with a touch of acidity and tannic grip, it's a pleasure to drink.

Serious, but not overly so. This wine succeeds in finding the intersection between being terroir-driven and letting the site speak for itself and revealing the California sunshine. A tremendous introduction to the producer.

93/100 WWP: Outstanding

Lemon was named winemaker of the year in 2010 by The San Francisco Chronicle. Check out this excellent piece by Jon Bonne.

Check out this outstanding video with wine director Raj Parr of Sandhi Wines and Ted Lemon from Littorai:

(try http://vimeo.com/39280943 if the video doesn't embed sucessfully)

Littorai's wines can be hard to track down. You can do a wine-searcher.com search for retailers in MA that sell the wine but you won't currently find any. But check out The Urban Grape in Chestnut Hill if you're in the area. They've got a bunch of 'em. Case club?

You can sign up for their mailing list by visiting their website: http://littorai.com

Question of the Day: Have you visited Littorai or tasted their wines? If so, what did you think? Either way, what are some of your favorite terroir-driven California producers?

Is Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Age Worthy?

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Fri, 04 May 2012 23:58:00 +0000

Kosta Browne Pinot Noirs are some of the most luscious, rich, ripe and delicious new world Pinot Noirs on the market today. Their mailing list was already hard to crack before their 2009 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (95 points, $52) was named Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year. Now it's harder then ever to get an allocation of their wines or to find them at or near release price at retail.

Their wines have a reputation for being big. Perhaps too big for some given the expectation that Pinot Noir should adhere to its Burgundian roots. But there's plenty of new world wine enthusiasts who unabashedly love the Kosta Browne style for its velvety mouth-filling texture, generous fruit, and hedonistic deliciousness. Myself included.

This style makes Burghounds question: Are their wines age-worthy? The fruit will fade but the alcohol won't. Will these fruit bombs be in balance when they age?

I spotted an older bottle of theirs on an offer from The Spirit Shoppe (long-time supporter of the WWP - check 'em out) so I thought I'd take a chance to see how well their wines hold up at 10 years post-vintage.

I should mention up front that I enjoy wines on the younger side. I haven't had many "ah ha!" moments where I tasted a wine with significant age that made me want to invest in long-term cellaring.

High quality Napa Cab is typically relased with about 3 years of age. California Pinot Noir is released earlier - about 2 years post-vintage.

As a broad rule of thumb I'd say I like Napa Cab at around 4-8 years, Bordeaux at around 10 years, and California Pinot Noir at around 3-5 years. It's one of the reasons I like California Pinot Noir so much - it's a low-fuss wine.

For me, Kosta Browne is the George Clooney of California Pinot Noir. Here's what I mean by that... When you watch an old episode of E.R. Clooney still looks cool. Contrast this with the style of Don Johnson in Miami Vice: Cool at the time but in hindsight a little extreme and now dated. Kosta Browne is like Clooney because it's maintained roughly the same style but has evolved over time. And thier style has been fashionable all along the way. Most other wineries envy their popularity, yet some may take swipes at them behind their backs. But you can't help but like them and want to hang out with them.

Looking back to 2002, it was the year before their wines hit the big time and snared 95 point ratings from Wine Spectator. Their first publicly released wines were from the 2000 vintage. Spectator didn't rate their 2002 Russian River Valley Pinot but they did score the Sonoma Coast 87 points. When retasting it this year as part of a retrospective Kosta Browne review they rated that same wine 84 points. In other words it's a little tired.

Here are my thoughts on the 2002 Russian River Valley:

2002 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
14.6% Alcohol
1,300 Cases Produced
$28 Release Price (back in the day)

Slightly browning transparent brick red. There's a hint of what this wine once was on the nose with light fruit and a touch of herbaceousness. Nice full viscosity on the palate and a medium-length finish. Ultimately it seems like this wine has been reduced to its most elemental components: Some fruit up front, weight on the palate, and alcohol in the background.

85/100 WWP: Good

Conclusion:

Tasting this wine felt like walking through Cooperstown right before closing on a quiet night. You can see the markings of a star early in their career but they haven't started to put up the .300/30 HR/100 RBI numbers just yet. A fascinating experience tasting this wine early in Kosta Browne's trajectory.

Further Reading:

Visit the Kosta Browne website to learn more and sign up for their mailing list.

Question of the Day: What drinking window is your benchmark for high quality California Pinot Noir?

$25 for $50 at Daily Wine Deal site Lot18

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:21:00 +0000

Deal site Fab.com is offering $25 for $50 at daily wine deal site Lot18.com. Buy through the link below and get $10 off your first Fab.com purchase bringing the price down to $15 for $50 of Lot18 credits:

http://fab.com/cqei73

Fab.com sign up required.

Lot18 runs free shipping offers quite frequently, and they're shipping more wines to MA than they used to. Check it out!

Do Case Discounts Actually Stifle Wine Purchases?

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:23:00 +0000

This question has been on my mind for some time so I thought I'd get it out there for discussion both from consumers and retailers alike.

If you're like me and many of my friends, your cellar is full, you've got more wine than you need and yet you're always in the market for certain specific wines. If a retailer has a wine you're looking for, and that retailer has a pricing model where for example a mixed case is 20% off - what do you do?

Do you put together a 12 bottle case of other wines you know you'll eventually drink? Do you get together with friends to split a mixed case? Or do you consider the whole production a hassle and delay the purchase indefinitely?

Are case discounts actually having the opposite effect they're intended to have?

There are basically three pricing models in stores in this respect: Low, medium, and high case discounts.

Low
On the low side we have operations where the first bottle is offered at the maximum discount. There are no case discounts.
Medium
In the middle is a more moderate 10% - 15% discount for a mixed 12 bottle purchase.
High
At the other end of the spectrum are placed where 25% or even 30% discounts are offered for mixed case purchases of 36 bottles. Typical margin for a retail wine shop is 33% so when a retailer offers a 30% discount it's usually what's required to get the prices down out of the stratosphere.

For both the middle and high discount case purchase models, sale items are typically excluded because offering a wine for 30% off would create a situation where the retailer would sell a product for less than they paid for it. Not that a retailer would like to do this, but it's illegal in Massachusetts. Sale items usually count towards reaching the required quantity of bottles, but they're not discounted below their sale price.

Which model works best for consumers? And which is most effective for retailers?

My reason for writing this is I often find myself not buying from retailers whose model requires hefty case purchases for favorable pricing.

If there's one thing a deal hound hates it's paying more for something than he has to. Even if it's just a few dollars here and there, it's a percentage game because over time the dollars add up.

Some retailers will give you a case discount if you're a regular even if you buy just 2 or 3 bottles. While this sounds good in theory in reality it's annoying to both consumers and retailers. It's annoying to consumers the first time they visit a shop and the employee who typically gives them the discount doesn't ring them up. And it's annoying to retailers because once a customer gets a discount they expect it forever.

What do I Like?

I like a model where I only have to buy what I want, and everything I buy is at the best possible price. I like receiving emails offering specific wines at very aggressive prices that I can pick and choose from, buy what I want, and over time build towards a case purchase. Then, I'll either pick it up at the store or arrange for shipment a couple times a year.

This is different than what I look for when buying, for example, a bicycle. Or tires. I don't buy bicycles or tires often enough to sweat it. I just visit a local shop or two, consider convenience and service, and go with my gut instinct.

But when you're buying wine again and again it pays to think about this stuff.

Consumers: What do you think? Looking back over the past couple years which models have earned more of your business?

Retailers: What are your thoughts on this? How did you decide to go with the case discount model you're using? And what trends have you seen as you've run specials offering deeper discounts with lower quantity purchases?

Preview: Knights Bridge Wine Dinner at Blue Ginger

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:49:00 +0000

On Tuesday, April 24th 2012 Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA is hosting a paired wine dinner featuring Knights Bridge Winery. The event costs $145 inclusive of tax and gratuity. Click here for details and more information.

I sat down with Knights Bridge Managing Director Timothy Carl to preview the wines slated to be poured at the dinner and learn more about the winery. I hadn't heard of Knights Bridge until recently. For some reason, when I first heard the name Knights Bridge I immediately thought of the well-regarded-as-a-value-play Beringer Knights Valley line-up. The Beringer wines are good, but a better comparison for Knights Bridge would be Peter Michael whose vineyards are a stone's throw from Knights Bridge's 120 acre estate north of Calistoga in the slopes of the Mayacamas mountain range.

Tim is one of those guys who lives in many circles. PhD in genetics. Harvard Fellow. Consulting experience at McKinsey and Putnam Associates. Quartermaster in the US Navy. Chef. UC Davis-education in winemaking. The guy loves to learn.

In 2005 he left Boston to return home to northern California and he's now bringing that experience, backed by 6 generations of winemaking, to the relatively new endeavor that is Knights Bridge. Their first officially released vintage was 2006 and they currently produce 1,200 cases.

When I asked him how he plans to get the attention of today's fickle wine consumers he said, "By making the absolute best wine possible." For him, everything comes back to that: Producing the best balanced wines they can.

We started off with a 2009 Pont de Chevalier Sauvignon Blanc. French for Knights Bridge, it's their second label. It was aged in stainless steel and neutral oak barrels (previously used, in this case for Chardonnay). I thought it was golden and sunny yet balanced nicely by racy minerality and acidity. Green apples and lemon zest. Tasty. 120 cases produced, $40. 89/100 WWP: Very Good.

Next up was the 2009 Knights Bridge West Block Chardonnay. This wine was chosen, along with wines from Screaming Eagle, Harlan, Colgin, Staglin, Peter Michael and others, to be poured at a reception at last year's G-8 summit at the Louvre. After tasting the wine I can see why it was included in this illustrious company.

The wine weighs in at 15.5% alcohol but you'd never guess it. Light golden in the glass, it's tremendously round and creamy yet beautifully clean and elegant. Complex aromas and flavors that seemed to change each time I tasted it. Most notable were roasted pear with coconut cream pie in the background. But approached from a different angle when tasted with food, zesty citrus aspects came forward. Quite a wine. 200 cases produced, $65. 93/100 WWP: Outstanding.

Timothy explained that the Knight's Valley AVA is unique in it's ability to produce both great Chardonnay and great Cabernet Sauvignon. This, he said, was due to diurnal temperature swings greater than 50F in the summer along with cooler micro climates where Chardonnay can excel.

The winemaker for both the Chardonnay and the Cabernet Sauvignon is Jeff Ames. Jeff has served as an assistant winemaker to the highly regarded Thomas Rivers Brown and has helped produce wines for Schrader, Maybach, and and Outpost as well as his own label Rudius.

The first Cabernet we tasted was a 2008 Knights Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon produced from mountain fruit from their estate vineyards in Sonoma (the Bridge in Knights Bridge is named for the "bridge" of sorts their property forms between Sonoma and Napa). The wine was aged for 28 months in 100% new French Oak and weighs in at a moderate 14.5% alcohol. The wine snuck up on me a bit. At first it presented itself as a "nice", pleasant, smooth Cab. But it built power on the mid-palate as it rested in my mouth and finished with a brawny, delicious chocolate-laced finish. 300 cases produced, $115. 92/100 WWP: Outstanding.

Next up was the 2008 Knights Bridge Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged for 21 months in 100% new French Oak and is 14.9% alcohol. The Dr. Crane vineyard is just west of Tre Vigne restaurant if you're familiar with the area and is known for its rocky soils which tend to produce wine with small berries and scorched earth characteristics. It was quite a bit more tannic than the Knights Bridge at this stage, but also more complex and powerful. 135 cases produced, $135. 92/100 WWP: Outstanding.

The final wine we tasted was the 2008 Knights Bridge Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon (pronoucned "tow-kuh-lawn" and Greek for "highest beauty"). To Kalon is arguably the most sought after vineyard in America - especially amongst those who sell their grapes to other producers. The only domestic wines Wine Spectator has ever rated 100 points came from this vineyard in the form of Schrader's 2007 MM-VII and CCS bottlings.

Also aged for 21 months in 100% new French Oak, the grape clusters were destemmed and cold soaked for 24 hours then fermented on skins in tank. The wine is massive with explosive notes of blackberries, mocha, cinnamon, and chocolate covered espresso beans. Chalky, mouth-filling tannins support a long flavorful finish. Quite spectacular. 110 cases produced, $135. 94/100 WWP: Outstanding.

At last check there was still some availability for the dinner Tuesday night. Give Blue Ginger a call if you're interested in attending: 781-283-5790 x18

If that doesn't work out for you check out their wines at these (and other) restaurants and retailers in Massachusetts:

Flemings
L'Espelier
Morton's Seaport
Radius
Bauer Wine & Spirits
Gordon's

Next Steps:

Check out the menu for the dinner at Blue Ginger Tuesday night
Visit the Knights Bridge Winery website and sign up for their mailing list
Look for their wines at retail via Wine-Searcher.com

On Being an Enthusiast and Sharing Useful Information

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:49:00 +0000

An excellent blog post popped up in my Flipboard Google Reader feed this morning. It has nothing to do with wine but it was useful, interesting and made me think a lot about the things I write about here on this blog.

The post is about procuring new wheels and tires for a BMW by Chris Parente. The steps Chris went though researching, ordering, tracking, negotiating, receiving and assembling the order were very familiar to me. They're eerily similar to what we go through as wine deal hounds.

With the exception of installation, I do all of these things when I'm buying wine. Sure, there's the occasional impulse buy at a local wine shop or grocery store, but the bulk of my buying these days is online, in response to email offers, or winery direct. Like Chris with his interest in specific wheels and tires, once you've gone Wine Berserkers you want very specific wines.

What I liked about the post is that he gave specific examples of resources he used and how he went about the process. I can see my way to leveraging his techniques and having a more enjoyable experience by getting better products and service at the best possible prices. Coincidentally, if I had once sentence to describe the mission of this blog that would be it.

What got me thinking the most about his post, though, is the question of whether it's worth it. Or rather, whether I'm interested in getting into another high involvement hobby. You can tell how much time and research went into tires and wheels for one of his cars - imagine extending that across the entire enthusiast experience. You've got to want it and it's got to be a priority to do it well.

I spend hours each week thinking about wine. Reading articles, blogs, consulting and contributing to CellarTracker, looking for deals on wine-searcher.com. Buying it, drinking it, visiting wineries, attending events - writing about it.

When I need new tires or wheels I just got down to DirectTire and they take care of it. Similarly when I needed a new bike for our 7 year old recently. We just went to a couple shops nearby and bought what seemed to be a good fit for our needs. And maybe that's fine for the occasional purchase. Spend the time saved burning up the web for the best deal on healthier pursuits. Life in balance, right?

But I wouldn't mind being more savvy in more domains. And that's why I enjoy acquiring and sharing knowledge via blogs and social networks. Mainstream publications just don't cover this stuff in a way that's as focused on the consumer experience.

You can't go too deep into too many hobbies. But you can learn a little from someone who's deep in a topic and can share useful information. Chris does that and reading his post reminded me to try to do a little more of that here on this blog.

Check it his blog here: Work, Wine and Wheels
You can follow Chris on Twitter: @cparente

I'd love it if you SUBSCRIBED to The Wellesley Wine Press

PS This post was written on an iPad with Blogsy.

Littorai Wine Dinner at Legal Harborside Boston

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:56:00 +0000

Legal Harborside in Boston is offering a paired dinner featuring Littorai Wines. Owner Ted Lemon (featured in the video above) is scheduled to be on hand to present his wines.

WHAT: On May 9th, Legal Harborside will team up with Ted Lemon, owner of Littorai Wines, for an exclusive four-course wine dinner. A vineyard known for producing world class chardonnay and pinot noir, Littorai Wines was founded in 1993 on the north coast of California between Sebastopol and Freestone in western Sonoma County.

This menu will be presented as follows on Legal Harborside’s scenic second level overlooking Boston Harbor:

HORS D’ OEUVRES

Gnocchi with Lobster, English Peas and Maitake Mushrooms

Littorai “Charles Heintz Vineyard” Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, 2008

FIRST COURSE

Pan-Seared Loch Duart Salmon

lavender-scented honey, preserved lemon and fennel

Littorai “Les Larmes” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, 2007

SECOND COURSE

Braised Veal Cheek

grilled asparagus and spring onion

Littorai “Cerise Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, 2007

CHEESE COURSE

Saint-Marcellin

cardamom preserved cherries

Littorai “Savoy Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, 2007

WHERE: Legal Harborside at Liberty Wharf

270 Northern Avenue, Boston

WHEN: Wednesday, May 9th at 6:30pm

COST: $125 per person (excludes tax & gratuity)

HOW: Reservations may be made by contacting 617.530.9470 or visiting www.legalseafoods.com

Video Credit: A visit to Littorai from WinoBrothers on Vimeo.

Caymus Wine Dinner Reveals Surprising Value Plays

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:50:00 +0000

The Wagner Family of Wine includes Caymus Cabernet, Belle Glos and Meiomi Pinot Noir, Mer Soleil Chardonnay, and Conundrum blends. Joseph Wagner (second from the left in the photo above) hosted an evening at the Boston Wine Festival featuring their wines including a retrospective sit-down tasting of Caymus Special Selection Cabernets followed by a paired wine dinner.

Some of their more expensive wines were every bit as good as I hoped they'd be. And a couple of their more affordable wines showed absolutely spectacularly in an elegant setting.

Between the seminar and the dinner was a reception where Conundrum White was poured. According to Wagner, Conundrum was created to enjoy with Asian fusion cuisine. It's one of those wines that, I think, makes numerical ratings seem especially silly. Because either you like a slightly sweet fruity white wine or you don't. It's not a question of quality. It's a question of style. It carries a $24 release price and is readily available available at retail south of $20 thanks to 92,000 cases of the wine being made at last check (2007 vintage). They've recently introduced a Conundrum Red as well.

Wagner kicked off the evening by mentioning that Chef Daniel Bruce never makes the same dish twice for these wine dinners. The Boston Wine Festival runs from January to March and features some of the top wineries and the world. The Boston Harbor Hotel has these things down to a science. I thought the service was excellent.

Chardonnay

The first course was a Pan Roasted Cod Loin with a Georgia Sweet Pea and Chardonnay Sauce.

The 2010 Mer Soleil SILVER Unoaked Chardonnay was showing beautifully. Crisp and creamy. Beautiful. Chablis-like in style. Clean pineapple aromas and flavors. The wine ferments and is aged in cement tanks which they choose to denote with distinctive ceramic bottles. Very cool packaging and a tremendous effort, especially south of $20 retail. 91 points WWP: Outstanding

This was poured alongside the 2009 Mer Soleil Barrel-fermented Chardonnay which provided a chance to assess the affects of a varying oak regiment on the two Chardonnays. I normally like the creaminess some time in oak can provide Chardonnay but this one took on a bit of an untamed "feral" note that I wasn't crazy about. Underlying this, the two wines were quite similar but I definitely preferred the unoaked SILVER. 84 points WWP: Good

Pinot Noir

Next up was were the Pinot Noirs. Chef Bruce prepared a Flash Smoked Slow Roasted Long Island Duck Breast in a Tomato, Wild Mushroom, and Wild Leek Broth. It was a brilliant pairing.

It's hard to think of a more reliably delicious sub-$20 California Pinot Noir than Meiomi, and the 2010 Meiomi Pinot Noir is no exception. It's a pizza-night staple around our house, so seeing it "dressed up" in this setting was interesting. I'd previously assumed that Meiomi was a blend of the single vineyard Belle Glos wines. It's not. None of the fruit in Meiomi comes from Las Alturas, Clark & Telephone nor Taylor Lane. But it was showing so well. Bright, rich, and pure berry fruit. I love California Pinot Noir and after tasting a bunch of [outstanding] Cabernet Sauvignon this was a luscious return to comfort. 92/100 WWP: Outstanding

The Las Alturas is typically my favorite, so I was pleased to see them pouring the 2010 Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir. In line with prior vintages which so many of us have adored, it's got this distinctive slightly sweet spice note and tobacco leaf that blends beautifully with juicy fresh strawberry aromas and flavors. I thought this wine was outstanding as well, but to be honest I liked the Meiomi just as much. 92/100 WWP: Outstanding

A Family Winery

I was sitting next to Joe at the dinner so I got a chance to chat with him quite a bit. He's only 29 years old, but coming from a line of five generations of winemakers has clearly provided him with a wealth of knowledge he's putting to good work. He's got five (5!) kids of his own and, charmingly, stopped to take a picture to send home to his kids of a Lego man they'd sent with him with the audience in the background.

Belle Glos is named after Joe's 96 year old grandmother Lorna Belle Glos Wagner. Joe said she drinks "whatever she wants" but mostly Conundrum these days.

Joe's brother Charlie focuses on white wines for the family. They have two sisters who are increasingly getting into the business. Even though production levels have increased since their first publicly released vintage in 1972, it's still very much a family affair.

I asked him what other California Pinot Noir producers he'd recommend for folks who like the Belle Glos style. Three he mentioned included Pisoni, MacPhail, and Peter Michael Le Moulin Rouge. Check 'em out!

Cabernet Sauvignon

The main course was a Herb Rolled Char Grilled Prime Tenderloin with Bacon Tossed Marbled Potatoes, Baby Zuccini, and Spring Onions. Sorry, no picture. I must have enjoyed it before remembering to snap a photo!

It was served with two Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignons: 2005 and 2009. It was interesting to taste these wines from the earlier seminar again, from different bottles, and along with food. The 2009 settled down a bit when paired with food (I thought it was extremely fruit-forward at this point) and the 2005 was vibrant with the tenderloin. Gorgeous stuff.

Dessert

A Warm Nectarine Crostata with Honey Strawberry Coulis and Honey Ice Cream was paired with a 2004 Mer Soleil Late Harvest Viognier. It was a delicious end to the evening.

Conclusions and Recommendations
If there's one thing the wines in the Wagner line-up represent, it's the intersection of delicious, approachable, high quality wines. Their entry level wines provide an affordable window into their style of winemaking and their more expensive bottlings are often rewarding purchases.

The Meiomi Pinot Noir is hard to beat south of $20. And the Mer Soleil SILVER Unoaked Chardonnay is one I'll seek out again. Combined with the always-delicious Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir, these are some of my favorites value plays in the market.

The Boston Harbor Hotel does a tremendous job with these wine dinners. Check out the Boston Wine Festival next year when it comes around again.

Disclosure: Attendance on a complimentary blogger pass.

Coming up next on the WWP: Trip reports on Littorai and Kosta Browne. I'd love it if you SUBSCRIBED to be informed of new posts.

Event Report: Wagner Family of Wines at the Boston Wine Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:39:00 +0000

The Boston Wine Festival at the Boston Harbor Hotel featured the Wagner Family of Wines this past week. A seminar with six Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignons from 1990-2009 proceeded a paired dinner featuring other Wagner Family wines.

Representing the winery was Joseph Wagner, son of Chuck Wagner of Caymus fame. Along with his three siblings, Joe represents the next generation of Wagner winemakers and is responsible for the current direction of their Pinot Noirs (Belle Glos and Meiomi) and the future direction of their red wines.

Unlike Mondavi, which chooses to market all of their wines under lines bearing the family name, the Wagner Family of Wines contains a fleet of individual brands: Caymus (Cabernet), Belle Glos (single vineyard Pinot Noir) and Meiomi (appellation Pinot Noir), Mer Soleil (Chardonnay), and Conundrum (entry level white and recently red blends).

Recent campaigns seek to tie these brands together. For me, having enjoyed their wines over the years and after this tasting, the common thread is delicious fruit forward wine that delivers value and enjoyment at each price point they compete at.

I'd never been to an event at the Boston Wine Festival before. This is not to be confused with the Boston Wine Expo which is (primarily) a large tasting that occurs in January. The Wine Festival is a series of paired wine dinners at the five-star Boston Harbor Hotel prepared by chef Daniel Bruce.

The evening started off with a sit-down seminar moderated by Joe Wagner featuring six vintages of Caymus Special Selection from 1990-2009. Two Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignons have been named Wine Spectator Wine of the Year: The 1990 ($75 release price) and the 1984 ($38 release price - doesn't that sound nice?).

Wagner described a style shift in Napa Cab in the late '80s/early '90s where many producers stopped trying to emulate Bordeaux in California - Caymus included. Perhaps the most notable difference between Caymus and Bordeaux is how enjoyable Caymus is immediately upon release. A question from attendees along these lines asked what the optimal age for enjoying Caymus Special Selection is. Joe said it was a matter of personal preference. Their wines are meant to be enjoyable on release and to evolve and develop over time. His preference is to enjoy Special Selection at 7 years after vintage.

Caymus has been one of the most reliably outstanding producers of Napa Cab over the past twenty years. Here is a chart showing the ratings Wine Spectator gave their Napa Valley and Special Selection bottlings since 1990 (click to enlarge):

These days the Special Selection carries a retail price of $130 (29,000 cases produced) and the Napa Valley retails for $68 (71,000 cases produced). With these higher production levels they're definitely available at retail outlets - including your favorite deep discounters. The Special Selection seems to bottom out around $99 and the Napa Valley around $59. If you can find them for less, buy 'em!

According to Wagner, the difference between the Napa Valley and Special Selection is that the special selection comes from the best lots, has a more substantial oak regiment, and is intended to be a classier wine.

At the seminar we tasted through six Caymus Special Selection Cabernets from 1990-2009. Here are my notes on the wines:

1990 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
Wine Spectator Wine of the Year 1994

Perfume, florals, caramel, toasty oak, super-well integrated. Slightly skunky - strange. Reminds me of the smell of oak in a cellar. Aged in 100% French Oak 2-3 years.

90/100 WWP: Outstanding

1994 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon

Sour cherry, plum. Easy drinking. Cellar oak. Lots of sediment.

90/100 WWP: Outstanding

1997 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon

Huge jump in style here from the 1994. "A stellar year in Napa." Cinnamon. Pleasant. Right in the middle of the age spectrum.

92/100 WWP: Outstanding

2002 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon

Nice initially but falls off a bit on the mid-palate. Pretty nose, but I don't know if I like it enough to see how it's a $100 wine. Substantial sediment.

90/100 WWP: Outstanding

2005 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon

Cola, black currant, vanilla, and dark fruit. Really nice stuff. Like this one a lot. This is at the 7 year mark Wagner mentioned and I love it.

94/100 WWP: Outstanding

2009 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon

Fresh and inviting. Lively young primary fruit. Cream soda. Quite sweet. Absolutely delicious but this is pushing it even for me. Wow - it's tasty though. This is so utterly different from the 1990 it's almost hard to compare.

92/100 WWP: Outstanding

The trend here for me is similar to what I've experienced as I've tasted other aged Napa Cabs: There are diminishing returns after 10 years. I agreed with Joe Wagner's preference that the wine was showing at its best 7 years post-vintage. The wines are good upon release. They change substantially in the next couple years. Then they begin a slow progression into a very soft and less substantial presence than they had on release.

I discovered something interested as I was pulling the Spectator ratings for the plot above. I found that James Laube had re-tasted these wines with regularity as part of retrospective tastings.

Notice in the plot below how all of the re-tastings were lower than the wines were rated on release. It makes me think twice before saving this style of wine for special occasions in the distant future in hopes that the wines improve significantly with age.

Conclusions and Next Steps

It was a treat to taste through these wines and get a feel for how they've evolved stylistically and aged. They're reliably delicious special occasion wines. I brought a bottle of 2008 Special Selection on a recent Disney Cruise we went on. It was gorgeous. Couldn't believe how quickly that bottle was drained. (Full review of the cruise here if you're interested)

The Caymus brand is a staple at nicer restaurants, regularly featured alongside Cakebread and Silver Oak. See how it fared in this Steakhouse Cab Blind Tasting.

Further Reading: The second half of this evening where we tasted the rest of the Wagner Family of Wines paired with dishes from Chef Daniel Bruce.

I'd love it if you subscribed to the Wellesley Wine Press to keep in touch.

Disclosure: I attended the event on a complimentary blogger pass.

Question of the Day: What do you think of Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon? What's your rule of thumb in terms of aging Napa Cab for maximum enjoyment?

Deal Alert: 2009 Sanford Pinot Noir

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 19:40:00 +0000

Sanford's entry level Pinot Noir is a wine I've enjoyed tremendously and reliably over the years. They're one of the wineries featured in Sideways and although Rick Sanford departed long ago, the wines continue to remind me why I still like them each time I taste them. After being purchased by Terlato, Rick Sanford evidently didn't like the lack of commitment shown towards organic farming and started Alma Rosa. His name remains on the label and as with a lot of things prices have risen noticeably over the last 10 years.

Over the holidays I had a bunch of nice wines out to share with family. None drew more praise than a bottle of 2007 Sanford Pinot Noir.

Here are my notes on the 2007:

For me, this wine finds that elusive intersection between tasting really good and being high quality. Slightly darker than your average Pinot Noir. I get rich dark cherries, ripe strawberries, and slightly sweet baking spices on the nose. A really enjoyable mouth feel - ample presence but silky smooth. Higher than average viscosity: It's rich but has tremendous finesse. Never gets heavy. A real beauty. At 5 years of age, this is showing very nicely.

I liked it a lot. Guests went so gonzo for it I don't see how I could score it any lower. I don't think I've ever heard so many collective raves for a wine from this crowd [that appreciates wine].

93/100 WWP: Outstanding

It's hard to find this wine south of $30 regardless of vintage. In looking around a bit I found an amazing price on the 2009 vintage. 2009 is a great vintage for California Pinot and given the track record of this producer I'm willing to take a chance on buying some without tasting it first.

The price is $20.99/bottle at Esquin Wines, eligible for 5% off a straight 12 bottle case. Some retailers sell half bottles for more! (they assure me these are full bottles) Shipping costs vary depending on your location but top out at $44 for a case shipped to the east coast (they don't ship to MA, that would be illegal). $23.60 fully loaded or less depending on where you're located.

Esquin is based in Seattle and has a sister e-commerce site at MadWine.com. This wine is a newsletter special and isn't available online. The best way to order is old school over the phone:

Esquin Wine Merchants at 888-682-9463

Deal hound friends will note that this wine doesn't show up on wine-searcher.com without Wine Searcher Pro. Pro adds listings for retailers who don't sponsor their listings on Wine-Searcher and the ability to create email alerts for wines matching your desired criteria. For example you can create a listing for "2009 Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir that ships to MA for less than $60". That search might never turn up anything but it's worth a shot!

I'd love if you subscribed to The Wellesley Wine Press if you like hearing about wine deals like this.

Question of the Day: What do you think of this deal? Find any other good ones lately?

Short term wine storage: How warm is too warm?

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:39:00 +0000

Weather-wise this past week in Boston has been gorgeous. The high temperatures topped 80F yesterday and I started to get concerned about the boxes of wine I have sitting around that don't fit into my wine fridge. The room where I tend to keep wine got up to 76F yesterday afternoon so I decided to take the wine down to the basement where it's in the low 60Fs.

With quite a bit of wine in-flight across the country as spring shipping season is in full swing I've also been wondering whether those shipments might be exposed to more heat than we'd like.

It got me thinking I might be overreacting a bit.

The wine sitting on a retailer's shelf has, in some cases, been through much worse. Who knows what weather that wine was subject to when it was shipped? And how long as it been sitting on the retailer's shelf in a room that's usually air conditioned but likely hits the mid-70Fs during the warmer months?

And what about my friends who live in warmer climates? Wines stored on the counter spend most of their life in the high 70Fs. How long until those wines are spent?

I know first hand how extreme heat can destroy wine. When we were moving from Arizona to Massachusetts a few years back I had a couple boxes of wine in the $30-$60/bottle range. It wasn't enough to warrant exploring separate climate controlled transport - or so I thought - so I just shipped it with the rest of our household goods. The wine was totally cooked. Some wine seeped out of the corks as I could see on the capsules. The wine tasted lifeless and like stewed vegetables. After popping 2 or 3 spoiled Sterling SVRs (that blew me away at the winery) I was thirsting for anything fresh and clean. Anything!

So, for short term storage, how critical is it to keep wine cool? Here's Wine Spectator's Dr. Vinny weighing in on a similar question:

Is it OK that a bottle of wine was exposed to a temperature of 70-75 degrees for 24 hours? Answer: http://bit.ly/GH5HXo

My take is that I'm comfortable keeping wine in the mid-70Fs for a month or two. But if it's going to be longer than that I'd seek out some way to keep the wine cooler. Especially for nicer bottles that merit mid-term aging.

Question of the Day: What's your take on this?

Amazon Local: $20 for $40 from Wine.com

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Amazon Local is offering $40 to spend on wine and other merchandise for $20 at Wine.com.

Prior purchasers of these social coupons will recall the main restrictions:

Can't be used to pay for shipping/tax
Can't be used for wine in MA

Shipping the first bottle generally costs about $12.95 so these deals are more appealing for those who have subscribed to Wine.com's Steward Ship program which covers all Wine.com shipments for a year for a flat fee of $49.

Some of my favorite affordable picks for this time of year:

2010 King Estate Signature Pinot Gris ($14.99 in MA)
Marquis de la Tour Loire Sparkling White ($9.99 - discovered at The Capital Grille)
2008 Glen Carlou Grand Classique ($14.99 reader tip)
2010 Belle Glos Meiomi Pinot Noir ($19.99 can't miss with this one)
2009 Byron Santa Barbara Pinot Noir ($12.99 in MA)

Check out the offer on Amazon Local:
http://local.amazon.com/seattle/B007MSSC4O

Visit and Tasting Report: Vaughn Duffy Wines

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 02:04:00 +0000

I spent half a day tasting in Sonoma last week and I've got a lot of thoughts to share. I've visited Napa a dozen times, but this was just my third time tasting in Sonoma. A mistake I made the first time I visited - and maybe others have too - is expecting Sonoma to be a more affordable but otherwise just as good place to taste Cabernet Sauvignon. Sonoma is a cooler climate than Napa and a therefore a better place to taste Pinot Noir and other cool climate varieties. If they're the varieties you're into then Sonoma may be a better place to visit than Napa.

As I was looking at potential wineries to visit I was like a kid in a candy store. There are so many tremendous Pinot Noir producers to visit in Sonoma. Of all the wineries I visited, the one I'm most excited to write about is this one: Vaughn Duffy Wines

The name comes from a young couple that relocated to Sonoma from San Francisco: Matt Duffy & Sara Vaughn. I met with Matt at Vinify Wine Services - a custom crush facility for emerging winemakers where he works as a Cellar Master - to taste the two wines he produces: A Pinot Noir and a rosé,

I first heard of Vaughn Duffy from @tgutting on Twitter. He seems to always be drinking wines from California Pinot Noir producers I enjoy - like Siduri, Zepaltas, and Joseph Swan. I pinged him to ask what he thought were some up and coming producers I should check out. Vaughn Duffy was his recommendation.

The wines I tasted were just the second produced by Vaughn Duffy Wines so we're definitely getting in on the ground floor here.

Matt, as earnest and enthusiastic and kind as you can imagine, worked as an intern at Siduri so he follows a similar lineage as Ryan Zepaltas in that respect. While tasting his two current release wines - a 2010 Pinot Noir and a 2011 Rosé - I asked about his winemaking philosophy. Although he enjoys leaner Pinot Noir for personal consumption he wants to make wines his family and friends will enjoy. That they'll love.

And enjoy them I did.

The prior vintage of Vaughn Duffy rosé landed on the San Francisco Chronicle's Top 100 list of 2011. Quite an accomplishment for the first wines ever released under this label. Matt makes this wine from juice bled from premium Pinot Noir grapes from clients he works with at Vinify. To pay their generosity forward he donates $1 from every bottle sold to Sonoma charities. No two vintages are exactly the same - Matt says the 2011 vintage took longer for fermentation to begin - but many of the same crowd pleasing characteristics found in the 2010 rosé are also found in the 2011.

All of the winemakers I spoke with agreed that 2010 was a tough vintage for Pinot Noir. The growing season was extremely cool and grapes were slow to ripen. To assist ripening, leaves were removed late in the season. Then a rogue heat spike late in the season with temperatures well over 100F came along and fried exposed grapes.

When I hear that a vintage is "challenging" I tend to treat that as an indicator I should buy selectively. I asked each of the winemakers I spoke with about this and they said that good producers won't put out bad wines. If the grapes were truly fried they wouldn't have been picked. So what we'll see with 2010 Pinot Noir is reduced yields but good wines from good producers.

Although the 2010 Vaughn Duffy Pinot Noir is labeled "just" Russian River Valley, it could technically be labeled as a single vineyard wine. The grape source for the prior vintage was the Suacci vineyard (where Zepaltas and others have produced single vineyard Pinot Noirs in the past). However, in 2010 a fire near the Suacci vineyard imparted smoke taint on the Vaughn Duffy rows within the vineyard. As if the challenging overall weather conditions weren't enough!

So Matt sourced grapes from the Desmond vineyard which is Southwest of Windsor in the Russian River Valley. This is traditionally a warmer site so Matt thought the cooler growing season would be a good one for Pinot Noir. Based on what I tasted in the bottle, I think he was right.

Here are my notes on the wines:

2011 Vaughn Duffy Pinot Noir Rosé
14.1% Alcohol
$16
259 Cases Produced

The innocent light peach color did little to prepare me for how electric this wine is. Made using the Saignée method - juice bled from pressed Pinot Noir. Peaches, watermelon, and floral aromatics. Slight residual sugar is balanced wonderfully with sharp acidity. It's hard to imagine this bottle of wine at a deck party going unfinished. Terrific.

92/100 WWP: Outstanding

2010 Vaughn Duffy Pinot Noir
13.7% Alcohol
$39
99 Cases Produced

For my palate, this is a delicious wine. Ripe strawberries, cherries, and a round voluptuous personality. Fresh. Pure. Friendly. Hard to stop tasting. Just the second vintage from Vaughn Duffy. I like the style here.

92/100 WWP: Outstanding

Next Steps:

Visit VaughnDuffyWines.com and sign up for their mailing list.
If you're a New England friend and would like to go in on a mixed case with me drop me an email (wellesleywinepress@gmail.com) and let me know. I'd prefer to amortize shipping costs across a larger order.

Lots more to come. Littorai, Kosta Browne, Zeptaltas, and more. I'd love it if you subscribed to the WWP to get regular updates.

Winners, Losers, Surprises and Upsets: Tasting 2009 Pinot Noir Blind

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:17:00 +0000

I had mixed emotions as I was driving to a blind tasting of 2009 Pinot Noir this past weekend. When Wine Zag blogger Adam Japko announced the tasting I was thrilled because I've been enjoying so many 2009 California Pinot Noirs lately. But as the night was upon us I looked at it differently than other tastings I'd been to.

Would I be able to pick my favorites out of the line-up? Would I be able to differentiate California from Oregon and elsewhere? Would my favorite be a cheap wine - and make me feel like a fool for spending so much energy chasing after and exploring increasingly obscure producers the past few years?

The line-up included producers I'm familiar with and enjoy like Sojourn, Belle Glos, and Loring. Familiar names like Patricia Green, Melville, and Calera. Some I was looking forward to trying for the first time - especially Kutch. Some old world Pinot Noirs, including a few Burgundies, were thrown into the mix as well. And a low-priced ringer: Castle Rock.

All of the wines in the tasting were 2009s, and the focus was primarily on California. Wine Spectator has called 2009 California Pinot Noir the best vintage ever. 2009 red Burgundy is said to be an amazingly fruit forward vintage. A perfect time for folks like me to explore the region. 2009 Oregon Pinot Noir hasn't received the accolades 2008 did, but 2009 is a warmer vintage and the wines are more generous on release as a result. More like 2006 Oregon Pinot Noir - which I liked.

The wines were tasted blind in 3 flights with the wines assorted randomly. We knew the wines being tasted and their price points but we didn't know which of the 17 wines was which.

Flight 1

Patricia Green Estate Pinot Noir (Oregon)	$35
Kutch Savoy Vineyard Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley, CA)	$68
Montinore Estate Pinot Noir (Oregon)	$28
Friedrich Becker Estate Spatburgunder (Pfalz, Germany)	$25
Sojourn Sangiacomo Vineyard Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, CA)	$50
Brewer-Clifton Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir (Santa Rita Hills, CA)	$60

Thoughts on the flight: Tons of stylistic diversity here. Guessing a lot of these aren't from California. Probably a couple are from Burgundy or Oregon.

Flight 2

Calera Pinot Noir (Central Coast, CA)	$26
Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Vineyard (Santa Maria Valley, CA)	$43
A Tribute to Grace Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyards Grenache (CA)	$42
Domaine Eden Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains, CA)	$32
Loring Graham Family Vineyard Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, CA)	$48

Not as much diversity here. Thinking all of these are from California. Good wines but no huge standouts.

Flight 3

Lignier-Michelot Cuvee Bertin Gevrey-Chambertin (Burgundy)	$70
Castle Rock California Cuvee Pinot Noir (CA)	$11
Sojourn Wohler Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, CA)	$50
2010 Calatroni Pinot Nero (Italy)	$18
Melville Terraces Pinot Noir (Santa Rita Hills, CA)	$56
Bouvier Bourgogne Le Chapitre Gevrey-Chambertin (Burgundy)	$23

Best flight of the night. Diverse and a couple of standout what I'm guessing are California Pinot Noirs.

Winners

The wines from Sojourn, Brewer-Clifton, and Melville showed well for me personally. And Sojourn and Brewer-Clifton showed well according to the group at large.

Losers

Belle Glos caught my eye on the list going in. I though it would be a benchmark wine of sorts that I might even be able to pick out having tried several bottles of their single vineyard wines and detecting a consistent stylistic pattern. But, speaking in March Madness terms, it was upset in the first round. The wines from Oregon (Patricia Green and Montinore Estate) didn't do particularly well either.

Surprises

A late entry - an $18 Italian Pinot Nero - tied the Brewer-Clifton for wine of the night. Quite an accomplishment for such an affordable wine. And who says bigger wines always show better in this kind of tasting?

Upsets

I'd never tried Kutch but finishing near the back of the pack - and weighing in at $68 - has me spooked. Also, the most expensive wine in the tasting - a $70 Burgundy - didn't do much to impress either.

Tasting Notes (sorted from my favorite to least favorite)

2009 Sojourn Wohler Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, CA) $50 94 WWP: Oustanding

Tasting Note:

Powerful with ripe strawberry and fresh produce aromas. Caramel notes remain in the glass after a couple sips, but it's balanced with fresh fruit and layers of more serious structure. Complex. Love it.

Observations:

Tied for 2nd amongst the group, this was my favorite wine of the night, and just a bit better than the Melville Terraces in the same flight. The Sojourn showed a purity of fruit and balance that others were lacking. Pleased to see this producer come out on top.

2009 Melville Terraces Pinot Noir (Santa Rita Hills, CA) $56 93 WWP: Outstanding

Tasting Note:

Ooo - pretty. Pure California. Round. A little heat. Is this Melville or Belle Glos perhaps?

Observations:

I've enjoyed Melville's entry level bottling (~$30) even though they occasionally have some rough edges and a little heat. This one was very nice. Edged out by the Sojourn because I thought the Melville's fruit was obscured just a touch behind what seemed like a fairly substantial oak regiment.

2009 Brewer-Clifton Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir (Santa Rita Hills, CA) $60 92 WWP: Outstanding

Tasting Note:

Powerful flavors but balanced nicely with a good amount of acidity. Really nice. With a touch of heat it clings to the glass. But it's vibrant. This could be Sojourn. Or Belle Glos?

Observations:

I had no experience with Brewer-Clifton prior to this tasting. I hear the winemaker is the same as Melville so maybe it's not surprising to see them near each other in my rank order. A little on the spendy side but I'd buy more of this if I could find it in the $40s retail.

2009 Domaine Eden Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains, CA) $32 91 WWP: Outstanding

Tasting Note:

Limited aromatically but radiant and flavorful. Elegant. Pretty. If this is California, it's doing it in a restrained style. Kutch?

Observations:

A nice surprise here from an affordable producer I'd never heard of. And from the Santa Cruz Mountains too. If this is what I think Kutch would taste like after reading about Kutch, and this wine is quite a bit more affordable, I'll definitely be seeking this one out.

2009 Sojourn Sangiacomo Vineyard Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, CA) $50 90 WWP: Outstanding

Tasting Note:

Happy magenta color but the flavors are melancholy. Beautiful nose of black cherry, raspberries, and mushrooms. Secondary flavors of cola and coconut. Long finish. Like it.

Observations:

Another winner for Sojourn and looking back on the notes it sounds like one of the most compelling wines of the night. Would definitely buy again and recommend others check out Sojourn. They've got one of the most consumer-friendly mailing lists I've come across.

2009 Loring Graham Family Vineyard Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, CA) $48 90 WWP: Outstanding

Tasting Note:

Dark in color. Caramel, then strawberries and cranberries. Some rough edges. Is this Sojourn? Might be a little much, but it tastes really good. Could this be Belle Glos?

Observations:

A solid showing here for Loring and the tasting notes are not too surprising having tried a number of their wines from this and recent vintages. Along with Siduri I consider Loring to be a bell weather value-priced high quality California Pinot Noir producer. The single vineyard bottlings climb up a bit in price. As with many single vineyard wines I'm not sure they're always worth it. Another consumer-friendly mailing list to check out.

2010 Calatroni Pinot Nero (Italy) $18 89 WWP: Very Good

Tasting Note:

Oregon? Bubble gum. Don't think it's got that California Pinot Noir flavor profile. Nice, but not my favorite.

Observations:

Tied for 1st among the group. That's saying something for an Italian wine in a line-up of stacked California wines costing many times more. At $18 I'd try this one again if I could find it. Very interesting. Try to find it on Wine-Searcher

2009 Calera Pinot Noir (Central Coast, CA) $26 88 WWP: Very Good

Tasting Note:

Lively fresh fruit. Highish viscosity. Probably California. Straightforward. Tasty.

Observations:

Tied for 3rd in the group. Pretty much in line with what I wrote when I tasted this non-blind for the first time a couple weeks ago. I like this around $20 and my enthusiasm would increase more closer to $15. Can't see my way to the 92 point rating and accolades Robert Parker bestowed on this one but it is very good in my opinion.

2009 Friedrich Becker Estate Spatburgunder (Pfalz, Germany) $25 88 WWP: Very Good

Tasting Note:

Think this one is from Oregon. A little green and twangy. Low viscosity. Pretty, but not my favorite.

Observations:

Affordable and interesting to try a Pinot Noir from Germany.

2009 Castle Rock California Cuvee Pinot Noir (CA) $11 88 WWP: Very Good

Tasting Note:

Very enjoyable and surely from California. Liked it a lot but it lacks some markings I look for in California Pinot Noir flavor-wise. A little dusty and quirky.

Observations:

Pretty strong showing here for a widely available wine that can be found significantly south of $10 if you look around.

Bouvier Bourgogne Le Chapitre Gevrey-Chambertin (Burgundy) $23 88 WWP: Very Good

Tasting Note:

Leuden's cherry cough drops which I tend to like, along with some vegetal components that knocked it down a bit. Is this Grenache?

Observations:

Tied for 2nd in the group. An affordable Burgundy with some things I liked and others I didn't.

A Tribute to Grace Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyards Grenache (CA) $42 87 WWP: Very Good

Tasting Note:

Tied for 3rd in the group. Light in color. Muted nose. Some quirky notes. Germany? Not California.

Observations:

Well this one confused me. I was surprised to see a California Grenache so light in color compared to Pinot Noirs. Interesting.

Lignier-Michelot Cuvee Bertin Gevrey-Chambertin (Burgundy) $70 86 WWP: Very Good

Tasting Note:

Flinty with quirky bubble gum notes. Not bad but quite a few off notes.

Observations:

I think I said at the time, "typical Burgundy: An expensive wine nobody really cares much for". Nobody at the tasting had anything nice to say about this one and it was the most expensive wine tasted. I know it's a far reaching generalization to bag on Burgundy and some day I'll come back and laugh at myself for being resistant to Burgundy's charms, but this one did little to compel me to go deeper into Burgundy. The Wine Advocate rated this wine 90-92 points.

Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Vineyard (Santa Maria Valley, CA) $43 85 WWP: Very Good

Tasting Notes:

Smoky. Some slight nail polish notes distract. A really nice wine but too many off notes. Definitely California.

Observations:

Wow. What a huge surprise to see a single vineyard Belle Glos show so poorly blind when I've found their wines to be so utterly (and reliably) delicious. I will say that the Clark & Telephone is my least favorite of the 3 single vineyard Pinot Noirs they produce (Las Alturas being the favorite, and Taylor Lane being the second favorite).

I was disturbed by this result so I opened another bottle of it the next night at home. While I can see why I wrote the things I did, when tasting on its own there's no way I would have rated it this low. This wine has a unique style. It's bold and yes some of the notes are a little less than pure fruit. I'd probably rate the bottle I tasted from at home 90 points. Blind tasting is humbling once again.

Kutch Savoy Vineyard Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley, CA) $68 85 WWP: Very Good

Tasting Note:

For a moment I thought this wine might be corked but it wasn't. Pungent with fruit that's muted and dominated by menthol (spearmint?) aromas. Low viscosity. Don't think this is from California. Quirky.

Observations:

Perhaps more of a disappointment than the Belle Glos. I'd never tried Kutch before and I just finished a month-long search to acquire some. Now I'm wishing I'd shown more restraint. I've read that their wines used to be bigger but were showing more restraint in a Rhys-like manner lately. Come to think of it I wasn't too thrilled with a bottle of Rhys I opened recently either. Definitely interested in trying more but will try my best not to fall under the spell of the pretty label.

Patricia Green Estate Pinot Noir (Oregon) $35 84 WWP: Good

Tasting Note:

Perfume nose. Falls a little flat on the palate. Kind of fake-tasting. Tastes like California but not high quality?

Observations:

Totally missed the mark here. I had a bottle of this ('08 vintage) and thought it was good but typical Oregon Pinot Noir. My tasting note makes it sound like I thought maybe this was the Castle Rock.

Montinore Estate Pinot Noir (Oregon) $28 78 WWP: Average

Tasting Note:

Not from California and possibly flawed. Smells of damp cellar floor or Home Depot near the fertilizer.

Observations:

Well, it wasn't from California. I didn't hear anyone else say TCA so I don't think it was flawed. But it was funky.

Conclusions and Recommendations

What a tasting - full of winners and losers, surprises and shockers. Once again blind tasting proves to be a valuable tool for removing bias and analyzing wines without preconceived notions.

It was reassuring to see the Sojourn wines show well in this blind format. But not just for their brawn (some call them a Cab-drinker's Pinot Noir) but for the diversity they showed. They're definitely allowing the personality of each site to be reflected in their wines, but showing them in their best possible light. Like a portrait photographer.

The wines from Brewer-Clifton and Melville, along with some other recent favorable experiences from the region renew my enthusiasm for exploring Pinot Noir from Southern California. They're often plush and forward but when done well like these they can be quite enjoyable.

Both the Sojourn Wohler and the Brewer-Clifton Clos Pepe showed well with the group.

The $18 Italian Pinot Noir tying for 1st in the group was quite an accomplishment. I liked it (but didn't love it) and would be open to trying more Italian wine made from this grape.

The Domaine Eden (91 Wine Advocate, 91 WWP) is an intriguing play. I'd like to learn more about them.

If you like California Pinot Noir I'll be writing up a trip report from a recent trip to Sonoma. I'd love it if you subscribed to the Wellesley Wine Press to hear about those visits.

Question of the Day: What do you think about these results? Or blind tasting in general?

Elk Cove Wine Dinner at Sprigs Restaurant in Acton, MA

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:39:00 +0000

Sprigs Restaurant in Acton, MA is offering what appears to be a fantastic dinner featuring wines from Elk Cove Vineyard. $63 per person gets you a 5 course meal paired with wines from Elk Cove, many of which we don't see available at retail in Massachusetts.

I've found Elk Cove to be a reliable producer, vintage after vintage, of reasonably priced delicious Oregon Pinot Noir. Their wines always seem to deliver ample fruit while respectfully reflecting where they come from.

Click the menu image below to visit the Sprigs website and learn more.
Thanks to friend and reader A.L. for the heads up.

Value Alert: 2007 Atlas Peak Napa Cab

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 01:09:00 +0000

I stopped in to pick up some wine at The Wine Cellar of Stoneham today. Before going I spoke with Mike Reardon on the phone and asked him if he had anything new or interesting I should check out. He mentioned this wine - the 2007 Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon.

There is an ocean of wine looking to get our attention at any given moment. After a while the names start to blur together. Avalon. Geyser Peak. Atlas Peak. Without knowing any better I start to assume they'll all be servicable but otherwise non-descript juicy red wines. But this one was special.

Atlas Peak is all about producing wine from mountainside sites in Napa Valley: Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, and Spring Mountain. They produce bottlings from each of these sites in the $60 range. The Napa Valley wine retails for $38.

Here are my thoughts on their 2007 Napa Cab. I think it could do really well in a blind tasting with wines costing up to $60.

2007 Atlas Peak Napa Valley Cabernet
$38 Release Price
14.5% Alcohol
$19.99 at the Wine Cellar of Stoneham

What a beautifully balanced, flavorful, and enjoyable Napa Cab. Very aromatic right upon opening. On the nose I get dried blackberries, supporting savory notes and a little perfume in the background. Mouth-filling with slightly sweet chalky tannins and a milk chocolate after taste. Good grip, a touch of a acid, and nice length. An impressive accomplishment at or around $20. If you like Honig Cab (which I do) I think you'll like this too.

92/100 WWP: Outstanding

Next Steps:

I've been tasting a lot of wines lately I'm looking forward to writing about. I'd love it if you subscribed to The Wellesley Wine Press so we can keep in touch.

Details Revealed for Cochon 555 Boston 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:58:00 +0000

Cochon 555, a culinary competition and tasting event celebrating heritage breed pigs, returns to Boston this year. The event is Sunday March 25, 2012 at 5 pm at the Mandarin Oriental Boston.

Here's an event report I wrote up last year to give you a feel for what to expect at Cochon 555

And here's more information on this year's event:

WHAT: Cochon 555 – five chefs, five pigs, five winemakers – is a one-of-a-kind traveling culinary competition and tasting event to promote sustainable farming of heritage breed pigs. Cochon 555 Boston, presented by Infiniti and media partner Boston Magazine, will challenge five local chefs to prepare a menu created from heritage breed pigs, nose-to-tail, for an audience of pork-loving epicureans.

WHO: 2012 Boston competing chefs include Jamie Bissonette of Coppa and Toro, Tim Cushman of O Ya, Barbara Lynch of Menton, Barry Maiden of Hungry Mother, and Steve "Nookie" Postal of Fenway Park.

DETAILS: Guests will be treated to a epic pork feast of five whole heritage pigs prepared by five chefs and wines from five family wineries, including Buty Winery, Elk Cove Vineyards, Syncline Wines, Sokol Blosser, Chehalem Wines, and K Vintners. The evening will also include wines by SALDO, an interactive tasting contest with Matt Jennings of Farmstead and Le Creuset, Anchor Brew, tastings of ChinacoTequila and the "Perfect Manhattan" Cochon 555 Bar with Daniel Hyatt of Alembic featuring five craft American spirits, and Domaine Serene of Oregon paired with Iberico De Bellota by Fermin. Joshua Smith from TICO will host a Heritage BBQ whole hog family meal after the completion of the voting. The night will conclude with a special 25th anniversary champagne toast to the James Beard Foundation, sponsored by Laurent-Perrier Champagne, now celebrating its 200th year; and dessert samples of exclusive chocolate bar flavors from Xocolatl de David, paired with cold-brew Safari Cup Coffee.

At the end of the night, attendees and local judges will select the Prince or Princess of Porc. The winning chef will go on to compete against other regional winners at the finale Grand Cochon event at the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, June 17, 2012.

WHEN: Sunday, March 25th
     4 pm VIP opening; 5 pm general admission

WHERE: Mandarin Oriental Boston
     776 Boylston Street
     Boston

TICKETS: $125 per person for general admission; $200 for VIP, which includes one hour early access to sample dishes from three of the competing chef stations, welcome cocktails from The King's Ginger, artisan cheeses from Formaggio Kitchen and Murray'sCheese, and Island Creek Oysters.

For more information and to purchase tickets:

Passionate About Western Pinot Noir? This Might Be For You...

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 21:51:00 +0000

Here's another one of those things I come across and think "man, this is targeted right at me!" It's no secret I've gotten stuck (in a good way) on California Pinot Noir. Every time I stray into other categories and taste a wine I'm not thrilled with I scurry back to my comfort zone.

PinotReport focuses its coverage on Western Pinot Noir - which translates to mostly new world wines outside of Pinot Noir's traditional home of Burgundy. The publication is put out by former Wine Spectator Senior Editor and President Gregory Walter who lives in Sonoma. His coverage of nearby producers is extensive, but he also devotes time to Oregon, New Zealand, and other areas known for Pinot Noir production.

Seeing that there was a publication out there devoted exclusively to new world Pinot Noir was intriguing to me. Unlike other categories it's not exactly clear which professional critic's voice is most authoritative in new world Pinot Noir.

I follow James Laube from Wine Spectator closely, but he only covers California Pinot Noir and has a lot of other categories to cover as well. Harvey Steiman covers Oregon Pinot Noir for Spectator, and has turned me on to a lot of great values, but Oregon Pinot Noir has been disappointing to me. I always looked at Robert Parker's reviews of Pinot Noir as half-hearted. As in: If it's outside of Bordeaux, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Napa, it's second tier. Antonio Galloni has picked up coverage of California Pinot Noir along with seemingly everything else for Wine Advocate so I doubt he'll have much time to focus on the category.

Burghound does cover California Pinot Noir but I'm predisposed to suspect it's through the lense of how well it exudes Burgundian character. The Prince of Pinot looks promising even though he doesn't score wines. I'll have to take a closer look at each of these.

But PinotReport is uniquely positioned in this space.

I reached out to Gregory last fall and asked for a trial subscription for the purposes of writing this review and I've been following along with new issues since.

Each issue starts with opening thoughts which usually focus on the current vintage or the state of the Western Pinot Noir market at large. The bulk of the content follows a format that should be familiar to Wine Advocate readers whereby the winery's story is told along with some editorial thoughts on the quality of the current releases. Tasting notes for each wine reviewed along with prices and numerical scores on a 100 point scale follow. A typical issue is around 10 pages long and features wines from a half dozen producers. New issues are published about once a month.

I'm a big believer in blind tasting so it's encouraging to read that "All wines were tasted blind and scored before knowing anything other than that the general region they were from." I think this is particularly important when assessing various bottlings from a given producer. If any reviewer is presented wines in ascending price order I can't help but think they're going to be predisposed to liking the more expensive wines more.

PinotReport seems to navigate the situation successfully. For example, here's his note on the entry level Sojourn appellation bottling. Assuming the first sentence is what was written during blind tasting and the second sentence is his thoughts after revealing the labels it makes me take special note of the favorable rating of this more affordable bottling:

Sojourn Cellars
Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2010

Medium-deep ruby color; deep, earthy cherry and spice aromas; deep, complex cherry flavors with many layers of spice, anise and earth notes; silky texture; great structure and balance; long finish. Complex and many-layered Pinot that is a testament to the fact that an appellation blend in the hands of the right winemaker can as good or better than a vineyard designate.

925 cases made $39 Score: 95

Print and online subscriptions are available. Each new issue is announced online with an email to subscribers which contains a link to download the content as a PDF. Back issues are also available for download. Search capabilities could be better, but full PinotReport tasting notes are available on CellarTracker under Professional Reviews for subscribers.

I'd love to see the content delivered as a gorgeous interactive eBook. I always enjoy reading the latest issue of Spectator with a glass of wine. I'd like to extend that experience to other publications but a PDF doesn't quite have the same feel as a glossy magazine. Maybe reading it on an iPad would help (I don't yet own one but I'm tempted).

Walter's enthusiasm for the subject is evident which in turn makes reading each newsletter enjoyable. He has a wealth of knowledge yet never talks down to the reader. My sample size is small but I think he tends to be more generous with the big scores than some other critics. Once you account for that his palate seems very well calibrated with mine. Your mileage may vary of course!

Overall I'd rate PinotReport 92 points. Content so laser focused it's hard not to like. Expertise and experience on the subject delivered in a warm likeable tone. I get the feeling it would be a ton of fun to go wine tasting through Sonoma with Greg, and I think PinotReport provides a window into what that would be like.

So check it out: PinotReport.com

You can also find PinotReport on Facebook: PinotReport
And follow him on Twitter: @PinotReport

Question of the Day: Who is your most trusted source of new world Pinot Noir reviews?

Tasting Report: 2009 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:46:00 +0000

Radio-Coteau (rā’ dē ō - kō tō’) adj. A colloquial expression suggesting “word of mouth.” Region: Northern Rhone.

Literal Translation: broadcasting from the hillside.

I can't say for sure where I first heard of Radio-Coteau but I'm glad I did. It may have been @DrncPno on Twitter that planted the first seed which in turn encouraged me to buy a bottle of their 2006 La Neblina Pinot Noir. Paired with a simple mushroom pizza on a Friday night that wine was simply amazing. Not an off note in the bottle. Purely delicious.

Their focus is on Pinot Noir from the North Coast of California (Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley). They also produce Chardonnay and Syrah.

Their wines sell in the $40-$55 range which is one of the things I love about California Pinot Noir: You can buy wines from top producers at entry-level Napa Cab prices.

Stylistically, I think their wines are similar to Dehlinger's: Balanced and pure yet unabashedly new world. Proprietor Eric Sussman spent time as an associate winemaker at Dehlinger - as I learned in this excellent informative piece from Terroirist - so perhaps the similarities are more than coincidental. Both Dehlinger and Radio-Coteau produce Pinot Noirs with Goldridge fruit.

I hopped on their mailing list last year tried a couple of Pinot Noirs from the highly regarded 2009 vintage. They were as distinctive as they were impressive. Here are my thoughts:

2009 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir La Neblina - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (2/19/2012)
A beautifully balanced yet powerful and flavorful California Pinot Noir. The wine is unfined and unfiltered yet beautifully radiant in the glass. Wonderfully aromatic immediately upon opening with classic aromas and flavors of bright cherries, black tea, sweet spice, and cola. Silky mouthfeel and long finishes that stays with you long enough to want to take another sip. Tremendous stuff and a very good value at $42. Highly recommended. Enjoyed it quite a bit more than the 2009 Radio Coteau Alberigi which was dominated by orange peel. (94 points)
2009 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir Alberigi - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (12/4/2011)
There's a lot here to like but the orange peel aromas and flavors were overly dominant for me at this point which makes it hard to go nuts about the bottle I tasted from. (91 points)

And here is my note for the 2006 I mentioned earlier:
2006 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir La Neblina - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/18/2010)
Really enjoyed this bottle. What struck me about it as being memorable was that it didn't have an off note or aroma in the entire bottle. And the amplitude was spot-on as well. Classy stuff. Enjoyed thoroughly with a mushroom pizza. (92 points)

Posted from CellarTracker

Their 2010s are just being released to mailing list members. Like other Sonoma Pinot producers they're saying the vintage was challenging but successful. In general I'm buying 2010 California Pinot Noir, but trying to be selective. 2009 was a tremendous vintage and there's still inventory around. And there's always another great vintage right around the corner.

For more information on Radio-Coteau visit their website and sign up for their mailing list. You can occasionally find their wines at retail as well.

Question of the Day: Have you tried Radio-Coteau? If so what did you think? If not, what are some California Pinot Noir mailing lists you'd recommend?

Tasting Report: 2009 HALL Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dwyer) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:32:00 +0000

Here come the 2009 Napa Cabs.

In general, the pros are expecting 2009 to continue a string of outstanding vintages from Napa. With the exception of 2007 (which was exceptionally good) 2005-2009 are all outstanding Napa Cab vintages which elude quick bookmarking as being universally better or worse than one or another. Look for wineries whose style you enjoy and 2009 will likely satisfy.

The deal hounds among us have discovered HALL Wines' Napa Valley bottling as a reliable one worth seeking out. In the $40 range it's not cheap but it can run with the big boys costing $50-$80.

About HALL Wines

"At HALL Wines we offer an elegant and stylish approach to the wine experience that combines the art of winemaking, design and contemporary art," says owner and vintner Kathryn Hall.

In 2009 their winery in St. Helena was the first in California to receive Gold LEED Certification. In 2010 their vineyards were certified organic. Last year, their 2008 Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon ($90) received a 96 point rating and landed on the number two spot on Wine Spectator's Top 100 list.

The Kathryn Hall and Napa Valley bottlings are often confused. Remember that the white labeled wines are from their Napa Valley series and cost between $38 and $50 at retail. The Kathryn Hall bottling has a red label and sells for at least $70 and up at retail. I saw a guy at Costco last year filling his shopping cart with the white labeled Napa Valley bottling whispering to me (incorrectly) that it was Wine Spectator's #2 Wine of the Year. Not that the Napa Valley isn't a fantastic bottle of wine - just a word of caution be familiar with the bottlings in their lineup.

Here's what the track record looks like for the 2009 HALL Wines Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon:

Ratings Pedigree	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Wine Advocate	NR	90+	91-93	95	88
Wine Spectator	86	94	88	91	NYR
CellarTracker	88.8	91.1	89.5	91.5	90.8
WWP	89	91	NR	NR	91

The drop-off from a 95 point rating in 2008 from The Wine Advocate to an 88 point rating on the 2009 comes as the publication switched from Robert Parker to Antonio Galloni covering Napa Cabs. From this you might think Galloni doesn't like their wines - but you'd be wrong. Referring to their 2009 lineup he said:

"This is a thrilling set of wines from Hall. The estate favors a rich, extroverted style, yet all of these wines have distinct personalities and tons of sheer character. ... Simply put, I was blown away by what I tasted."

Here are my tasting notes for this wine:

2009 HALL Wines Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Varietal Composition: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc
Barrel Aging: 16 months in 55% New French Oak
14.9% Alcohol
$48 Release Price (high $30s street target price)

100% opaque - mostly purple with ruby red in the background. Bright, high toned and fresh with lively fruit. Grippy mouth feel with cinammon and blackberries on the nose. On the palate I get coconut rum and cola. Needs time to settle down but I like what I see.

91/100 WWP: Outstanding

Look for Laube's rating (Spectator) to fall in the 90-93 range and continue a nice run for this Napa Valley bottling.

Find this wine for sale at retail on Wine-Searcher.com

Visit the HALL Wines website to learn more - they ship 6 or more bottles for just $1 and offer nice deals to club members.

Further Reading

Sample for review.

Question of the Day: Have you tried HALL Wines lately? If so, what did you think?