14. May 2009 by Sebastien Gavillet.

Well when Franco Nuchese said that he was going to present his new collection in style, he walked the talk.

He flew three of his chefs and Bruno de Conciliis (Italian winemaker and owner of Viticoltori de Conciliis) from Italy, additional personal from his DC office to assist and ensure proper execution. Larry Ruvo, GM SWS hosted the events with the assistance of Carmelo Messina, SWS’s Italian wine specialist.

All wines presented were native (harvested/made) to the Campagna region (southern Italy), from where Franco and Bruno originate.

The Nuchese wines are not the type of wines you would typically find on wine lists or at your local wine stores. Made from less available varietals such as Greco di Tufo, Falanghia, Fiano di Avellino, Aglianico, Primitive, Primitivo di Manduria, and more readily available varietals such as Barbera, Malvasia, and Moscato.

All wines were paired with a 7 course meal, which was a wonderful way to present these wines. But first I will talk about the wines characteristics and then only with which course it was paired with.

-        Il Sogno, means the Dream in Italian (60% Fiano, 30% Malvasia, 10% Moscato)
Served as an aperitif.
This sparkling wine, which is not a Prosecco, is made using the Charmat method, also known as the Metodo Italiano, which unlike Champagne, undergoes a secondary fermentation in the tank rather than in the bottle. It is then bottled under pressure.The wine has floral aromas with a touch of tropical fruits on the nose. In mouth, the aromas open up to more floral notes, and you can notice “saltiness” due to the proximity of the vines to the ocean. Refreshing, clean with a smooth finish pulling more towards the acidity side.

-        Falanghina 2007 IGT (Falanghia)
Served as an aperitif.
A white wine, with aromas of lime, grapefruit rind, lemon, green apple and lots of jasmine. Very noticeable minerality, giving way to the more tropical fruit side of this wine.

-     Greco di Tufo 2007 DOCG (Greco di Tufo)
A white aromatic wine with aromas of melon, lime, bruised pear and white flowers. Fresh and lively, well balanced with good minerality notes.  A style of wine you will not encounter often.
Paired with citrus marinated langoustine with zucchini, fennel salad and pink peppercorn olive oil.

-        Fiano di Avellino 2007  DOCG (100% Fiano di Avellino)
Paired with warm baby octopus salad with vegetable panzanella and Italian parsley pesto.

-        Lucretia 2007 IGT (50% Fiano di Avellino, 50% Greco di Tufo)
This white aromatic wine has more complexity than the Fiano di Avellino. With aromas of green apple, melon rind and jasmine, and strong “terroir” attributes, it complemented beautifully the lobster.
Paired with imported paccheri pasta with sautéed Maine Lobster, marjoram and fava beans in a light spicy cherry tomato sauce.

-        La Pietra (the Rock) 2007 (50% Barbera, 40% Aglianico, 10% Primitive)
Named the Rock after Bruno de Conciliis, representing the more realistic side of life whereas Il Sogno (see above) is named after Franco “the dreamer, visionaire”.
This red wine with medium plus acidity is very well suited for any tomatoes dishes or even fish. With aromas of red cherry, raspberry preserve, green pepper, plums, hint of white pepper, and a touch of strawberry (typical Sangiovese characteristic), yes this wine has a splash of Sangiovese in it. Fruit forward with fruit tannins, no oak. Long finish.
Paired with sautéed Monkfish ossobuco with Italian lake beans, pancetta and mussels guazzeto.

-        Taurasi 2004 DOCG (Aglianico)
Paired with braised veal cheek with Jerusalem artichoke pure and baby vegetables.

-        Cassius 2005 DOC (Aglianico)
One thing I will say about this wine is that when you are done drinking it, it will leave you the impression that you have a small piece of vanilla bean that was left on the middle of your tongue! You can definitely feel that this wine has had substantial oak contact. This wine was made to please new world wine style aficionados.
Paired with imported Italian Pecorini cheese with truffle honey and homemade radicchio jam.

-       MarcAntonio 2006 DOC (Primitivo di Manduria)
Very complex and sophisticated for a Primitivo di Maduria, this dark, almost black in color wine has aromas of raspberry, blackberry, plum, spices, leather, dark chocolate, vanilla, and a hint of smoke. Paired with chocolate chili cremoso with delicious rosemary berries compote. What a feast. I have to say that the wine pairing was exceptionally well matched. I look forward to visiting the winery this summer and enjoying the wines on site.  I am sure that the trip will make for some pretty interesting blogs!

Cheers! 

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18. March 2009 by Sebastien Gavillet.

The tasting took place at Spago (a Wolfgang Puck restaurant) located at the forum shops in Caesar’s Palace and was hosted by J&P Wholesale (SWS) in association with Gerhard Kracher himself (third generation winemaker).

For those of you who have never had a wine from Kracher, the Kracher family specializes mostly in sweet dessert wines which are simply delicious and “literally” mouthwatering. Three generations of Kracher have been crafting fine wines which helped put the Seewinkel region (Burgenland, Austria) on the map as a quality wine growing region and have brought it today to a world renowned status. To state that the Kracher Family is one of the Top Austrian wine producers is an understatement. I would go as far as to say that these are some of the finest dessert wines available.

Gerhard himself poured the wines and took the time to explain in detail each wine we sampled. I always find it fascinating and feel privileged to hear the winemaker’s vision and production techniques. It allows me to measure the heart and soul they put into making the wines. It is always an enlighting and enriching experience. I will not be able to comment on the 24 wines I sampled, however I have picked the 6 most interesting:

• TBA No. 03 TRAMINER “NOUVELLE VAGUE” 2004:
  Straw bale in color with deep hues and aromas of orange rind, muscat, hawthorn, honey, rose, a hint of clove and some delicate smokiness to it. Intensely rich and complex, with a lingering aromatic finish. This wine has not reached its full potential yet and should age beautifully.

• TBA No. 08 WELSCHRIESLING “ZWISCHEN DEN SEEN” 2002:
  Dark Golden/Amber in color with aromas of linden, grapefruit bud (floral notes), possibly quince (fruit), saffron and other spice notes with no presence of oak contact, this wine is elegant yet complex. Ready to drink.

• TBA No. 12 NOBLE WINE “ZWISCHEN DEN SEEN” 2002
  (Which is technically not a wine):
  The reason I picked this “wine” is because it could not be classified as a wine as its alcohol content is too low (4%) due to the extremely high sugar content (RS). This “wine” is made from a blend of 50 % Scheurebe and 50 % welschriesling and resembles in characteristics that of a Tokaji Eszencia from Hungary. 
  Amber in color with aromas of Nestea concentrate to make it simple, or broken down as citrus (lemon), bruised pear, dried apricot, honey, tea leaf and a hint of tobacco. Basically a Tokaji Eszencia but with less dried fruits on the nose.

• TBA No. 09 CHARDONNAY ”NOUVELLE VAGUE” 2004:
  Straw bale in color with aromas of pineapple (faint), peach, linden, honey, vanilla, grilled almonds and a hint of caramelization and smoke. Intense yet well balanced. Very approachable and still youthful considering it has less acidity than its 2005 version. Ready to drink and should age well. Always keep in mind that with time some of these aromas will transform over the course of time.

• TBA No. 10 CHARDONNAY “NOUVELLE VAGUE” 2005:
  Yellow/golden in color with aromas of lemon, linden (very similar to honey), honey glazed baked pear, clove (hint), vanilla, grilled almonds with just the right touch of smoke. Full bodied, rich and has a surprisingly creamy texture (from aging in oak and being a chardonnay), yet has great acidity with a lengthy smooth finish. Simply beautiful.

• TBA No. 07 WELSCHRIESLING “ZWISCHEN DEN SEEN” 2004:
  Golden Straw bale in color with aromas of grapefruit bud, linden, honey (alpine), apricot, peach, tea leaf and a hint of tobacco and/or other wood spices. Intense fruitiness yet well balance. This wine has such complexion and an ever lingering finish. Ready to drink and will age beautifully.

Cheers!

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14. February 2009 by Sebastien Gavillet.

A large percentage of people still believe that old world wine styles are wines which come from the old world such as France, Italy, Spain (Europe) and that new world wines are the wines which come from USA, South America and Australia. This benchmarkwas maybe true in the past; however one can’t rely on this ideology anymore. Today, when we talk about new world vs. old world wines, we are actually talking about the winemaking process and STYLE of the wine rather than merely referring to their place of origin. Old world wine styles tend to be less bold, are less vibrant in color, more delicate, higher acidity, elegant and better balanced naturally in general. They also feature more of the characteristic of the grape varietal, the appellation or “Terroir” characteristics.  It is not unusual that they have higher minerality and tend to follow the traditional wine making guidelines of the region they originate from.  

On the other side, new world wine styles are almost always bolder, more luscious, and often bursting with fruit aromas from the get go.  They are usually higher in alcohol content as the grapes are left to ripen longer/ripen faster (because new wine regions tend to be warmer). Their acidity levels tend to be in the mid to light range. The nose is less delicate and sophisticated than that of the old world style. There are of course exceptions to this rule, such as some young Barolos and Barberas, which are known for their “boldness” and higher content in alcohol.  So if anything, just remember old world wine styles normally have lower alcohol content, are more delicate and more terroir driven.  Being big, bold, fruity, and having higher alcohol content, light to medium acidity are attributes of wines in the new world style.

Cheers!

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7. February 2009 by Sebastien Gavillet.

So some of you may have heard that there is this “great” cook-off going on in the Las Vegas Wine World and it’s called “Somms in the Kitchen”.

“Somms in the kitchen” is a private event where sommeliers compete against one another. A theme is presented and the basic criteria is set. Then up to three sommeliers are chosen. This is of course done on a volunteer bases. Sommeliers compete on an individual/personal level and do not represent their establishment. Once the candidates are selected, a location (usually a private residence) has to be found. The contestants may be required to prepare as many as three dishes and most of the cooking must be done on-site.
The objective is not only to cook the best dishes but to pair them with the right wines. A panel of three judges (made of a selection of chefs, sommeliers and/or food critics) judges the food based on presentation, originality, taste and wine pairing criteria.

I can tell you that “There is nothing better than when gourmands get together and show off their hidden culinary skills, share their favorite dishes and pair it with the perfect wines.” If you get lucky enough to be invited, you will be required to bring at least one bottle of wine. And it better be a decent wine because when you have twenty plus sommeliers in the house, who work in some of the most prestigious restaurants in the country, the last thing you want is to hear someone ask “who brought this bum wine?”

Cheers!

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21. January 2009 by Sebastien Gavillet.

J&P Wholesale, the boutique wine division of Southern Wines & Spirits, hosted Holdredge Wines’ 2007 release tasting presented by John Holdredge himself (owner/winemaker of Holdredge wines).  The event took place at the Rio Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas.

Nine wines, of the following varietals, were presented during the tasting; Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel, late harvest Pinot Gris and a late harvest Gewürztraminer.

Pinot Noir is John’s specialty and his winemaking technique focuses on showing off the features of the Terroir in which they are grown. He uses an all natural winemaking process, driven by his nose, palate and heart. John produces truly fine Pinot Noir and 2 of his new releases rank in my top 5 California Pinot Noir of 2007.

Now about the wines:

2007 “Bucher Vineyard” Pinot Noir (Russian River)

With aromas of raspberry, rose petals, strawberry, hazelnuts and some spices. Medium plus body, heavier/bigger than the Wren Hop, yet still has a great structure, body and complexity.  Great wine.

2007 “Wren Hop” Vineyard Pinot Noir (Russian River)

Personally my favorite of the nine. Such a delicate, yet complex wine. Almost Burgundian.

With aromas of cherry “griotte”, raspberry, strawberry, maybe even pomegranate. Medium bodied, elegant and delicate structure with almost silky tannins and a lingering velvety finish. Very enjoyable at such a young age. Should age well.

That’s it for this tasting.

Cheers!

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21. October 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

I get this question all of the time so I figured it would be a worthy blog subject.

Well it might seem that there might be no “significant” difference between Champagne and Sparkling Wines but there are. First, Champagne is an AOC (geographic region) of France and it is true Champagne undoubtedly produces the world’s best sparkling wines.
So to be more specific about what champagne is, only sparkling wines from the Champagne AOC, which were made in the traditional methode champenoise, following strict guidelines from the AOC law can be called Champagne.
Champagne can only be made from six types of grapes. The most used varietals of grapes to make champagne are: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. The three less common varietals are Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier and Arbane.
Trellising is also an important factor in the Champagne Appellation.  Four methods are authorized and they are: Chablis, Cordon, Guyot and Vallee de la Marne.  I will not elaborate further as this is a whole other subject.

Champagnes must rest a minimum of 15 month on lees for non-vintage crus, 36 month for vintage crus. It is not uncommon for the best cuvee to rest for up to a decade.

Chaptalization is permitted in Champagne and is mostly used for when making non-vintage crus.

Grapes must be hand picked and are pressed as whole clusters, which means that they are not destemmed.

Some of Champagne’s finest vintage are: 2002, 1996, 1995, 1990, 1985, 1982, 1976, 1975 & 1971.

As for “non Champagne” sparkling wines, there are so many different styles and produced in numerous wine producing region from so many different types of varietals and the world over that it would be simply not possible for me to talk about it further in this blog subject but maybe it will be a future topic, who knows!

Cheers!

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12. September 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

This is a question I have often answered but never really written about.
In today’s market, there are several gadgets out there to help preserve an open wine bottle. The most common of all is probably Vacuvin’s products. Place their vacuum stopper on the bottle and pump out the air. A vacuum is created inside the bottle and therefore the oxidation process is “halted or reduced”.
There are also the inert gas versions, where you replace the air in the bottle with an inert gas. The gas being heavier than air, replaces the air in the bottle, “blanketing” the wine. Put the cork back on and you are set. I know some of you are thinking I do not wish to purchase an expensive machine to preserve my wines. Well I have news for you; inert gas is probably the cheapest way to preserve wine. You do not need to buy a refrigerated inert gas dispenser! For $9.95, you can buy a can of Private Preserve (“the original inert gas preserver”) and get up to 120 uses! You can not only use it for wines, but ports, whiskies, olive oils and any other products stored in a bottle. It is so convenient and inexpensive. This is what I personally use. I am a firm believer that sucking out the air from the wine by creating a vacuum seal is only good for a day or two. The air eventually makes it way back in. Furthermore, it is believed that vacuuming the air out of the bottle also sucks out the bouquet/aromas from the wine when used repetitively on the same bottle. Finally, the stoppers need to be replaced once a year to keep their efficiency. That is why I made the switch to the inert gas. Have you ever tried to drink a whole bottle of an older sauterne by yourself? Nor have I. And as it is a wine that I do not drink all that often, I like to preserve it.
Well how long may one preserve a wine which has already been opened? For a long period of time. Some of my bottles have been open for months and preserved with inert gas. Oh one word of advice, make sure the cork you use does not breathe. If you put your cork screw all the way thru the cork, you can be sure that air will seep in. So keep that in mind.
For under $10 buck, only a “tête de mule” would not give Private Preserve a try!

Cheers!

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12. August 2008 by Agi Toth D.W.S..

Finally! My chance to go to Oregon Pinot Camp had arrived.  “Camp?” My friends’ incredulous faces stare back at me.  “Your work takes you to Oregon to drink wine for four days?”  Well…..when you come right down to it, yes!  Every year 50 of Oregon’s wineries band together and invite over 250 wine/hospitality professionals to explore Oregon wine country.   

In the last thirty years, Oregon’s Pinot Noirs have gone from being unknown to receiving international acclaim from industry professionals.  Wine lovers who had previously only stocked Burgundies in their cellars are now adding pinots produced from grapes grown in Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills, and Yamhill County.  

We participated in six workshops ranging from the history of Oregon winemaking to exploring vintages and styles as well as discussions and tastings of Oregon’s white wines.  Winemakers took us to their vineyards to discuss Terroir.  You know, there’s nothing like squeezing dirt clods (oops, excuse my indelicate faux pas.. shall I say soil samples…?) to really understand the difference between sedimentary and volcanic-based earth.   

The star of the show? Pinot Noir, bien sûre (of course).  That persistently persnickety grape which perpetually puzzles and perplexes even the most devoted winegrower.  In order to make that wonderfully elegant and silky wine we call pinot, our growers of the vine dedicate their lives to combating this thin-skinned grape’s proneness to rot.  They will stay up at all hours of the night zipping through their plots tasting, chewing, spitting and tasting again until the grapes finally whisper to their caretakers that they have achieved full ripeness and the moment has arrived to begin harvest. 

The Pinot tastings focused on the 2006 vintage, a year that pleased many winemakers and yielded high quality fruit.  It is clear that winemakers strive to produce wines true to pinot’s varietal characteristics.  Though the wines are very young, they display a variety of aromas and flavors ranging from bright fresh red berries to riper, dark blackberries and plum.  The various uses of oak were apparent and wines ranged from the more subtle flavors in Domain Drouhin’s elegant pinots to the fuller-bodied, spicier versions expressing more cedar, vanilla and tobacco from  Panther Creek and Witness Tree.  As a group Oregon pinots display a mouthwatering acidity, firm tannins, fruit complexity and a lengthy finish which are all important elements of quality and agreeability. 

As for the whites pinot gris is the reigning queen; her wines are deliciously crisp, clean, refreshing and can accompany many a dish (gee, why do I have this sudden craving for seared scallops, asparagus.. but, I digress..).  Winemakers are being creative and experimenting with other varietals such as Chardonnay. A wonderfully refreshing example is Soter/Argyles’s sparkling Blanc de Blanc. Ponzi Winery makes a lovely arneis and others are dabbling with more aromatic varietals such as Riesling and Gewürztraminer.  

How could the French not be attracted to this region?  French owned Willakenzie Winery had fun in mind when producing their Plaisir à Trois, a unique blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Gamay Noir. 

As we floated over the vineyards of Oregon in our hot air balloon one morning (mais, oui..) my thoughts took me to the winemakers. Though they have looked to Burgundy for inspiration, their goal is to focus on discovering their own style and unique expression of Terroir to the world.  Praise for Oregon, a picture of powerful potential for people with a predisposition for particular pinots.

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1. July 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

 In April, I met with Eben Sadie, winemaker for the Sadie Family at a presentation he was giving in Las Vegas at Aquanox.

Eben was presenting his new releases, from South Africa and Spain.

For those whom are not familiar with the Eben Sadie, he grows and makes most of his wine naturally. Self sustained viticulture (no watering), uses mules to plow, hand picks all the grapes and does not use sulfates to make the wine. Eben believes that the most important component in winemaking is the grape itself. The rest is secondary.

Now let’s get to the wine:

Sequillo 2005 South African Red Wine from Swartland region made of a blend of Syrah (68%), Mourvedre (26%), and Grenache (6%).

Bright, deep ruby color, resembles a Rhone wine from the Vaqueras region, with aromas of cherry, blackcurrant, blackberry, prune, thyme, leather and cedar. Some minerality with acidity on the plus side.

Elegant and surprisingly smooth finish for a wine which I expected to be much more tannic.

Columella 2005, South African Red Wine from Swartland region made of a blend of Syrah (80%), Mourvedre (20%). All grapes are berry selected!

Dark ruby/purple color, with aromas of blackcurrant, morello cherry, prune, cedar or wood box cigar, tobacco, leather, and a herbal note maybe eucalyptus. Some minerality, medium acidity, tannins on the plus side. This wine should age beautifully. Oh I forgot to mention that this is the only South African wine to ever get 95 points on WS (Wine Spectator).

Terroir Al Limit, 2005, Spanish red wine, Priorat region, my favorite of the Spanish selection. A blend of Carrigan and Grenache varietals.

With aromas of young red fruits (raspberry, redcurrant), Mon Cheri (liquor infused cherry covered with chocolate), dark chocolate, prune, smoke with a hint of woody spice.
Good balance, well structured wine.

Next blog will be about Domaine Dujac and Jeremy Dujac’s visit to Deluca Wine & Liquor.

Cheers!

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9. June 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

I was asked this question today by my son and  I thought it would make a worthy subject to write about, especially that it is during summer month’s that one enjoys rosés the most.

Rosé wines are made of red grape varietals with the exception of rosé Champagne or rosé Sparkling Wines, which is also made with white grape varietals.  I say varietals because chardonnay is not the only white grape used to make sparkling wines.
However, there are some winemakers who add a little white wine to make a blend of their own in their still wine rosé. But this is not common practice.

About rosé wines:
The major difference is characteristic of rosé wines is that old world rosé tends to be more bone-dry as to the new world rosé, especially Californian rosé which is can be almost sweet with very similar characteristics as that of white wines. It is however important to note that today some Californian rosés winemakers make a fruity, elegant and almost bone-dry rosé wines, resembling those of the old world.  Sophia, by Coppola is such a wine.

TIP: It is important to know that one should drink rosés still wines young. 1-3 years of age. A good Rosés Champagnes with some age can be a real delight.

So how is rosé made?
Well there are several ways to make rosé wines.  The four which are most commonly used are often explained erroneously on the internet, worse even on some og the top ranked sites! I love the internet but it has become as big of an information highway as a disinformation highway. This is one of the reasons I started to blog. To try to inform you correctly. Anyway back to topic. The four approaches to making a rosé wine are bleeding, pressing, limited maceration and run off.

-Saignée or bleeding which makes the best quality rosés are made from the juice which was extracted by stacking the grapes up in a tank and letting the grapes own weight do the crushing. As the juice is in contact for a very short time with the skins, the color obtained by this technique is very pale, such as Gris de Bourgogne or a Rose from the Loire Valley. The wines are rich, fruity and have great freshness.

-Pressé or pressed is the technique of pressing the red grapes until the juice has the desired color. Once the color is reached, the winemaker stops the pressing. Only the juice pressed is used to make rosé.

-Limited maceration is the most common technique used in the making of rosé wines. They (the grapes or the skins more specifically) are left in contact with the juice until the winemaker decides that he/she is happy with the color and than transfers the “wine”  minus the skins to another tank to finish the fermentation process.

-Finally, the run off style is the process in which the winemaker removes the juice from the tank during the fermentation process of red wine and uses that juice to make the rose wine. This results in making the red wine left in the vat more intense/dark in color and a so-so rose in my opinion.

FYI: typical Provence rosé wines are mostly made using the same local blends as that of red wines. They are mostly made with Grenache and Cinsault varietals but are also known to be made from Mourvedre.

For my aroma hunters, the typical aromas found in rosé Wines from Provence region (Côtes de Provence, Côteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, les Baux-de Provence, Bandol, Cassis, Bellet, and Palette) are grapefruit, banana, strawberry, raspberry, redcurrant, almond, linden, cut hay…
If you wish to try a typical rosé from Provence, I recommend you “Mas du Fadan”, Côte de Ventoux, 2007.

Oh by the way a great bottle of rosé should not cost you more than $20-$25 unless it is Rosé Champagne!

Cheers!

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25. May 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

This was the 15th annual Great Match; Wine and Tapas, which previewed more than 250 wines Spanish wines, representing large variety of Spain’s 67 denominations (DO). This tasting was exclusively open to food/wine professionals and to the press, giving them a first-hand look at the latest wines from Spain. This event was extremely well organized and I already look forward to next year’s event.

As you can imagine, I did not sample all of the 250 wines. I narrowed my selection to about 100 wines, which were either recommended to me by my peers or which I had read reviews about.
From the moment I started the tasting till the time I left to attend another tasting (Moet & Chandon at the all new Trump International Hotel & Tower, Las Vegas), almost 5 hours had passed. It gave me plenty of time to talk with the Spanish wine representatives and winemakers.

Now let’s talk about wine: I will not go in detailed analysis of the wines I tasted as it would take days for me to do so; however you are welcome to contact me should you wish to know about a particular wine. Instead, I am categorizing them into wine types, my personal favorites in NO PARTICULAR ORDER. All wines listed are wine I am considering to buy for my personal consumption and will recommend to my clients. There will also be a section called “Funky Aromas” which will feature a list of wines with very “different/unique” aromas.

The MSRP below was provided to me at the tasting by Great Match.

Cava (sparkling):
Mont Ferrant, Blanes Nature, 2003, Do Cava, MSRP $19.99

White Wines: (Albarino wines are to be drunk young or they will lose their appeal. 2-3 years at most.)

- Terra Firme, 2007, DO Rias Baixas, 100% Albarino, MSRP: $55.00
- Albarino Santiago Roma, 2006, DO Rias Baixas, 100% Albarino, MSRP: $55.00 (note: Unique style; handpicked, grapes are cryo freezed to delay fermentation process, malolactic fermentation cut at 70% via temp. control, ages 3 month on its lees and finishes the fermentation process once bottled. No Oak.)
- Paco y Lola, 2007, DO Rias Baixas, 100% Albarino, MSRP: $55.00 (note: Most refreshing, crisp and well rounded Albarino I ever had. Only 30% of the best harvested grapes are used to make this wine. Plenty of floral aromas, good acidity and no oak. Can’t wait to have this wine again with Asian Cuisine or just to sip on my patio.)

Rose Wine:

- Gran Feudo Rosado, 2007, Bodefas Julian Chivite, Navarra, Grenache, MSRP: $19.00

Red Wines:

- Montecastro y La Planeta 2002, DO Ribera del Duero, 100% Tinto Fino (local Tempranillo), MSRP: $55.00
- Pasanau Finca La Planeta 2002, DOCa, Priorat, 80% Cab. Sauvignon, 20% Grenache, MSRP: $60.00
- Finca Antigua Crianza, 2004, DO La Mancha, Tempranillo Blend, MSRP: $15.00
- Mascun, 2005, Bodegas Osca, DO Somontano, 100% Syrah, MSRP: $25.00
- Matamangos, 2003, Agricolas Santa Rosa, DO Almansa, Blend of Garnache/Monastrell, MSRP: $29.00
- Fra Guerau, 2003, DO Montsant, Grenache/Syrah, MSRP: $15.00
- Rento, 2003, Grupo Matarromera, DO Ribera del Duero, Tinto Fino (local Tempranillo), MSRP: $75.00
- Val de los Frailes, 2003, DO Cigales, Fino (local Tempranillo), MSRP $70.00
- Campo Viejo Reserva, 2005, Juan Alcorta, DO Rioja, 75% Tempranillo, 15% Graciano, 10% Mazuelo (Carignan) MSRP: $12.99
- Ysios, 2001, DO Rioja, Tempranillo, MSRP; $29.99
- Navarro Lopez Old Vines Crianza, 2002, DO Valdepenas, Tempranillo, MSRP: $12.99
- Rentas de Fincas, 2003, DO Rioja, Tempranillo, MSRP : $14.00
- Earth 2.0, 2003, DO Navarra, 50% temp. 50% Merlot, MSRP : $21.00

Dessert Wines:

- Seleccion Especial, Jorge Ordonez, 2005, DO Malaga, (Muscatel), MSRP: 20.00
- Don PX Gran Reserva 1979, Bodegas Toro Albala, DO Montilla-Moriles, Pedro Ximenez, MSRP: $60.00
- Sandeman, Character Medium Dry Amontillado, DO Jerez-Xeres-Sherry, Palomino Fino and a hint of Pedro Ximenez, MSRP: 19.00
- Lustau Peninsula Palo Cortado, Emilio Lustau, DO Jerez-Xeres-Sherry, Palomino Fino, MSRP: 21.00
- Sandeman, Royal Esmeralda Amontillado VOS Sherry, DO Jerez-Xeres-Sherry, Palomino, MSRP: 22.00
- Donecq Venerable, Vintage 30 years, DO Jerez-Xeres-Sherry, Pedro Ximenez, MSRP: 45.00

Funky Aromas:

- Protos Verdejo 2007, DO Rueda (white), MSRP: $12.00 has not only floral aromas as expected but some funky arm pit like aromas too, making this wine my funky pick of the tastings.
- Don Olegario Albarino 2005 (white), DO Rias Baixas, MSRP: $22.00 has a chimney like taste/aromas all over it. Similar to what you find in a Haut Brion blanc, even though the wine characteristics are completely different. Worth the experience.

Looking to build up your wine collection or to start one? Most Spanish Red wines, especially Sherries age very well. I recommend that you slowly start stocking up on a few cases of Spanish wines before they become more popular, hence more expensive.

Cheers!  

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12. May 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

J&P Wholesale proudly presented E. Guigal portfolio tasting at Mesa Grill.

Philippe Guigal, the estate’s oenologist and Eve Ryckewaert, E. Guigal’s marketing manager personally presented E. Guigal’s current vintage and new releases.  For those who don’t know, E. Guigal is both a grower and negociant. The estate has vineyards in Côte Rôtie, Condrieu, Crozes Hermitage, Hermitage and Saint Joseph.  All other AOC are not estate grown.  The turnout was incredible for this tasting. Almost everyone in the industry (locally speaking) was present or represented. Dana Hanusova, Mesa’s sommelier was my tasting partner for this event.

My top six picks of the tasting are:
Condrieu “La Doraine” 2006: This 100% Viognier is aged for 9 months in new oak barrels.
This white wine has a complex bouquet with aromas of acacia, linden, apricot, white peach, roasted almonds and a touch of vanilla.  Rich, full bodied, nicely rounded and well balanced.  One of my favorite whites of the tasting. Ready to drink.

Ermitage Ex-Voto 2001: This 95% Marsanne, 5% Roussanne, is aged 18 month in new oak barrels.  Personally it had the characteristics of a wine aged a lot longer in new oak to me.
For your information, I was told that this wine was only made in the greatest vintages.
This white wine has a complex bouquet and aromas of acacia, peach almost white peach, quince, honey, oak, toast, clove, vanilla and roasted almonds.  Very rich and fatty, with a long spicy finish. Should be ready to drink within the next 3-5 years.

St. Joseph “Vignes de L’Hospice” 2004: This 100% Syrah is aged for 30 months in new oak barrels.
This deep red wine, ruby colored with purple hues, has aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, a hint of prune or over-ripe cherry, wood spices, coffee, leather, oak, vanilla pod and toast. Big yet elegant tannins and well-rounded. Long smooth finish. Ready to drink.

Cote Rôtie “La Turque” 2004: This 93% Syrah, 7% Viognier is aged for 42 months in new oak barrels.
This deep red wine, ruby colored with dark hues, has aromas of blackberry, blackcurrant, morello cherry covered with dark chocolate, violet, coffee, spicy wood, maybe even truffle, oak, vanilla, toasted seeds… Full bodied, elegant, well rounded with an unctuous texture and a lingering finish.  Should drink beautifully in 3-5 years.

Côte Rôtie “Château d’Ampuis” 2004: This 95% Syrah, 5% Viognier is aged for 38 months in new oak.
This ruby red wine has a complex bouquet, with aromas of raspberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, prune, dried herbs, violet, and hints of vanilla, coffee, toast and smoke. Medium bodied, elegant and well structured with no overpowering tannins which gives it a nice and lengthy finish.  Ready to drink and will age well for the 10+ years to come.

Côte Rôtie “Château d’Ampuis” 2000: This 95% Syrah, 5% Viognier is aged for 38 months in new oak.
This garnet red wine has a complex yet delicate bouquet, with aromas of blackberry, blackcurrant, maybe even raspberry, prune, musk or leather, dried herbs, violet, hints of vanilla and toast. Medium bodied, well structured with good tannins which gives it a smooth finish.  Ready to drink. 

That’s it for this tasting.

Cheers!

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22. April 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

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9. April 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

The tasting was hosted by Diego, Wing Lei’s sommelier. Wing Lei is located inside the Wynn Resort & Casino and its décor is simply stunning.

Willie, the tasting’s MC, had selected the tasting’s topic: any French reds, excluding, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Cotes du Rhone.
Now what kind of tasting is that? A great one if you ask me as it puts your knowledge to the test. Alsace, Loire Valley, Languedoc-Roussillon, South West of France, Corsica and Provence are about all of the possible selections. The most interesting thing, for me, about this tasting is how rarely we actually drink these wines.

This is where your knowledge comes into play. One needs to recognize particular characteristics or aromas to overcome such a challenge. I will give you an example of what I mean. If you smell aromas of strawberry, raspberry and rose in a particular wine, you know that strawberry is a typical aroma characteristic of Loire Valley and of Languedoc-Roussillon wines. Raspberry is present in all wines of the above mentioned regions so we can say that the wine is either from Loire Valley or Languedoc-Roussillon. Now we go to the next aroma, rose. Flowers scents such as rose and violet are characteristic of Loire Valley but not of Languedoc-Roussillon, hence the wine must be from the Loire Valley. It sounds simple but it takes lots of practice, hence the importance of taking time to train your nose. This is a part of the methodology which I use to uncover where a wine is from when blind tasting.
The color, viscosity, alcohol also play a great role, especially when you are at a tie break with the aromas.

Now a practical breakdown of a new wine:
Red Wine, ruby color, pink rims, medium viscosity, clear, bright with aromas of blackberry, raspberry, clove, dark chocolate and smoke, meaty in mouth with medium plus to plus acidity, not quite balanced.

Let’s analyze:
Red wine, ruby in color with pinkish rims, clear and bright puts this wine in a 2004-2005 bracket.
Clove, dark chocolate and smoke put it in the Languedoc-Roussillon Region and the blackberry hints us that it is probably a blended wine, possible Carigan and/or Syrah as varietal(s) and quite possibly some Grenache too.
Meaty in mouth with medium to medium plus acidity, maybe a wine from Corbieres AOC.

Result: 2004 Sainte Eugenie
AOC: Corbieres (Languedoc-Roussillon).

In a nutshell, that is how it’s done.

The next tasting will be classic wines from the world over. I will unfortunately not be attending that tasting as I will be tasting some wines in Switzerland and Italy! I will update you on my trip soon.

Cheers!

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8. April 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

This was probably SWS last call for Grape Nutz.  SWS is thinking to take Grape Nutz on the road. 
SWS facilities on Jones were just perfect for this kind of event.  The turn out was the most I had seen so far. It was almost like people knew that it was the last time they might be coming to SWS’s HQ for this event, paying their respect to the premises for one last time. Moet Hennessy USA was presenting their portfolio of wines.  New like old world wines were featured.
Seth Box, MH USA’s portfolio manager for their Italian wines presented Ceretto, Capezzana, Monsardo and Livio Felluga wines.  Seth used to be a winemaker at Ceretto, which explains his passion and extended knowledge when presenting Ceretto’s wine.  Ceretto makes an interesting blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Nebbiolo) called Monsardo.  Each variety’s vilification process is carried out separately.  First fermenting in steel for 12-15 days and then transferred into barriques for malolactic fermentation.  After the malolactic fermentation is completed, then only are the wines blended.  This wine has a rich bouquet of red fruits.  The wine displays a certain structure which is immediately noticeable in mouth and has aromas of strawberries, raspberries, fresh tobacco, and roasted coffee.  Oak (barriques) plays an important role as vanilla and spice flavors are present.  Well rounded with mellow tannins, this wine is very enjoyable just by itself and was the wine of choice for the most of the people present.

As usual, Ira Harmon had the generosity to introduce a few of us to something he called “special”.  A 2002 bottle of Wedell Cellars Edna Valley Chardonnay was uncorked. Once poured, one could immediately notice that this wine was unfined and unfiltered by its color.  On the nose, typical aromas found in new oak fermentation could be scented. Oak, lots of toast, roasted hazelnut, butter, new leather and other aromas all came together to created a popcorn/stinky new sneakers bouquet.  Overall well balanced, I was very impressed by this wine and would recommend it to anyone whom lives by the ABC rule (Anything But Chardonnay).  Don’t expect to find it at your local wine store; you might need to do a little research to find it. Ira finished the evening by pouring us a glass of Santo Domingo Albarradas. This mezcal, a distilled spirit from Mexico made from the agave (maguey) plants, has aromas of citrus fruits and bruised pears.  More tropical in mouth, with noticeable woody-spice aromas and a clean, dry finish. For those whom are not familiar with Santo Domingo Albarradas, it is located in the high Mixe region south of Oaxaca. In this sub-tropical climate, plants and fruits grow along the rushing mountain streams.  The production is limited due to the fact that all transportation is done by horses and burros.

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