February 27 2008
Joel from Winelifetoday.com is the host for the upcoming Wine Blogging Wednesday and he offers another inspired theme for March. He requests:
Comfort Wines - choose a wine, any wine, that you love to unwind to and tell us about not only the wine but what makes the experience special and relaxing for you!
I love this theme because every wine lover has a couple of producers that they lean on for reliable satisfaction and tapping into that vein of embedded expertise will truly be interesting; there should be something for everybody to learn.
Joel could have just as easily called it, “My Wine Woobie” because I think that is what he’s getting at. What wine is your comfort blanket, your “woobie”—a term immortalized in the 80s movie Mr. Mom.
I have several of them, which is why I am talking about one today, just a bit ahead of the curve of Wine Blogging Wednesday on March 5th.
Tulocay Winery is an iconoclastic winery in Napa Valley, and it is one the wineries I always reference in the midst of the answer to the question, “What’s a good wine I should buy.”
To me, Tulocay falls into that category of satisfying not only my need for a reliable wine across varietals, but it also satisfies the requirements for which good ‘friends and family’ wine recommendations are made:
1) The wine is classically structured, but fruit forward
2) The wine is reasonably priced
4) The label speaks to a classic wine sensibility
5) The winery has a bit of personality and is “authentic”
6) The wine is not available on the end-cap at your local “Piggly-Wiggly”
Not only is the Tulocay not available on end-cap at the Piggly-Wiggly, but it is scarce. Tulocay does not sell online, though you can sign up for the wine club and you can phone in orders. I have purchased mine at JV’s in Napa and on the Internet at a NYC wine retailer and you can find it elsewhere by looking at the usual places – wine-searcher.com or winezap.com.
I also happen to appreciate the Tulocay sense of humor. On their web site they say, “Copy anything you like and use it. Plagiarism is flattery.”
I am not plagiarizing, but I am excerpting. The site goes on to say, in a homey way:
As Napa Valley wineries go, Tulocay is really one of the oldest. It’s also one of the smallest. And just in case you’re wondering, it doesn’t have any trams, fancy tours, or gift shops. But the boss does offer tastings and his own “down home” style of tour. And you’re even welcome to have a lunch here on his picnic table under the giant oak in the front driveway. The only requirement is to give him a call a day or two in advance so he can make sure he’s around. Fair enough?
Every wine I have had from Tulocay has been pleasurable with a sense of place, in a distinctive California style. It’s hard to balance approachable, but classic, yet that’s what Tulocay does, at a reachable price point, to boot.
They are one of my “Wine Woobies” and my review is below:
’02 Tulocay “Nord Family Vineyard” Pinot Noir
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February 24 2008
… Gently I grasped and sweetly I whispered with a melody in my voice, “(If loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right.”
As a summary for a California Chardonnay, that song title, speaking to an illicit love affair, would be it for the ’06 Benziger Carneros Chardonnay.
My own palate and prevailing wisdom amongst the critical elite keep telling me that I should not like this wine.
We all know California chards are tropical fruit punch, butter bombs, and certainly not the food-friendly, acidic, and balanced whites from elsewhere; the Gruner’s, Gewurtz’s and Riesling’s that have turned outlying wine regions fashionable again.
Yet, this wine delivers. And, it delivers as a California Chardonnay--pleasing in that stylistic hallmark kind of way with its ripe forward tropical fruits and prevalent buttery toastiness, but not in an overwrought polarizing fashion. It is just a good bottle of wine. Double bonus points go for the neat trick of being fruit forward on the front and mid-palate with the zippy acidity showing up on the finish, enough to create the impression of balance and invite lingering sip after sip.
The Benziger family is notable for their green practices, as well. I am one person that believes that marketing and social responsibility are symbiotic in increasing accountability. So, to that end, I laud Benziger for their responsibility in green actions that leads to green marketing. If using the fact that they power their exterior winery lights with solar power as a public relations tool is hoary to some, I am okay with it because stating something as factual intent creates the need to deliver against that statement and managing to expectations is never a bad thing, especially around green practices. You can read about their involvement in green activities and biodynamic farming here.
You will find this wine all over the Internet at prices ranging from $9.99 to $15. It nearest competitor is likely the ubiquitous Kendall-Jackson Vintner Reserve. Both have similar philosophies, with the Benziger tagline being, “Farming for Flavors” with an educational bent similar to the K-J, “A Taste of the Truth.”
Regardless of your disposition on California Chardonnay, I would encourage you to try this wine. Challenge your own preconceived notions just as I did and see what you find out. You may be singing the same song I am.
My Review is found here: ’06 Benziger Carneros Chardonnay
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February 13 2008
Wine Blogging Wednesday is inspiring this month. Just seven words is the host request. It is hard to write with constraint. Try though, I have, with varying success.
Phew, there you have it--four sentences comprised of seven words. Bless the poet who can write like that in rhyming couplets.
Now, I just need to do a couple more sentences with actual wine descriptions. I am beginning to wonder if Andrew created this challenge as some sort of antagonistic vehicle for the most verbose and flowery of the wine bloggers—truly, I am a man of carefully chosen spoken words, but abundant diarrhea of the pen. Therefore, I find the “Just Seven Words” combined with an Italian red to be a bit anachronistic given that, in my minds eye, Italy is the last bastion of Old World de-stressed, non hustle and bustle. So, compressing something like a wine review into such a short amount of words is something of an oxymoron. We should all be writing 500 words of linguistic masturbation.
That said, I have reviewed two nice Italian red wines. The first is the 2004 Morgante Nero D’Avola (about $17). I did two notes for this one—it is like a choose your own adventure wine review, if you do not like the first one, you can go with the second one …
While Funky on the Nose, it’s Delicious
Or
Cherry Trees in Tobacco Field by Barnyard
The second wine is the 2004 Umbria, IGT, Ca’ Andrea, Carlo Massimiliano Gritti (about $17). Likewise, I did two notes for this one, as well.
Bitingly Racy with Earthy Ripe Red Fruit
Or
Vintner Makes Production Wine that Tastes Small
Overall, a fun and engaging Wine Blogging Wednesday. Thanks Andrew!
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January 22 2008
Since the beginning, I have been a big fan of the concept of Crushpad Wine. However, being a fan of their business concept and being an advocate based on their wines are two different things.
I was straddling the line between being the equivalent of a business admirer versus being a stark, raving consumer fan. I knew that they had produced a couple of nice wines in their first few vintages, but, just the same, the proof is in the palate, my palate that is, and I hadn’t actually tasted any of their vino.
I might be crossing the chasm to stark, raving consumer fan given the first two bottles from the case that I have had of the ’06 Cellar Rat Cellars Anderson Valley Pinot Noir.
I signed up relatively late for Alan Baker’s Cellar Rat wine project (chronicled here), and I am glad I did, not missing the opportunity. As explained by Alan on his site, he, essentially, spent his last bit of savings to make this wine, hoping that it was a good bet not only for quality, but also for realizing his wine dream.
It was a good bet. Wow. This is nice juice. And, he got a job out of the deal, too, now working with and for Michael Brill, Crushpad CEO on their Crushnet initiative.
For Alan, this is a boutique project—boutique as in small—not boutique as in kind of small. I think total production of the Cellar Rat Cellars Pinot is 75 cases. Given the smallness of the project, it makes the $42 bottle price, while, yes, a bit dear, worth every penny.
The Pinot is a very nice balance between having some of the “Old World” food-friendly acid and earthiness components that you would expect alongside some amazingly succulent California fruit upfront, all done in a restrained manner; it is not blowsy or rendered too tightly.
The thing that I like most about this wine, however, is its natural state. According to Alan, who generously spent a 1 ½ hours with me in May of ’07 doing barrel samples, is the wine went into fermentation with natural yeasts—no inoculation. Which, given Crushpad’s location in San Francisco, makes that fact pretty cool, particularly given the result. The other good decision that Alan made with the wine is to not filter it. It has obviously been fined, but not to the extent where it is completely free of all wine detritus. It is clear, but not brilliant and there is a rustic quality to the wine that, when paired with the earthiness in the flavor profile, makes it a special wine.
Alan thinks it will age for the next five years or so—the acid and the subtle oak influence being indicators that it needs some time to reach its peak. This, alongside the fact that a little decanting really opens up the wine, particularly on the nose, gives indication that its best days may be in the months/years to come. However, in my humble opinion, this wine will not last five years, at least not in my house. I will drink it before it sees its peak, color me impatient if you must.
The ’06 Cellar Rat Cellars Anderson Valley (Wentzel Vineyard) Pinot Noir also just won a Bronze medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition against some notable competition. Other Bronze Pinot winners in this price range include DeLoach, Consentino, Londer, Navarro, MacMurray and others. It is good company.
Alan tells me that there is a very small quantity of the wine left. If you are interested in picking up a bottle or three you can do so with the commerce functionality that Alan has set-up. (found here)
Quoting New York Times wine writer Eric Asimov (here) in regards to Pinot Noir, he says, “… No other wine forges as direct a path to the soul.” With the quality of the Cellar Rat wine and the story of how it came to be with Alan Baker, I would have to say I think Asimov is right on target.
My tasting note is found here.
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January 16 2008
Usually I have a moderately interesting story for my Wine Blogging Wednesday wine selection--some sort of madcap purchasing story, morality tale or taste revelation.
Today is no different.
My white from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region wine, as stipulated by our gracious hosts, Jack & Joanne from the Fork & Bottle was, in a word, interesting. My wine selection, which set me back a whopping $7.99, might be the most interesting wine I’ve ever had. But, you know, interesting in the kind of way where somebody asks you your opinion and you don’t exactly know what to say, but your inclination is negative, so you just say the benign “interesting.” The wine is so interesting in fact that I’m channeling my inner Chateau Petrograsm--words can’t describe this wine adequately.
So, with that in mind, the following is a link to my single picture which encapsulates the wine.
‘01 Forchir Villa del Borgo Chardonnay
My tasting note review for the same wine can be found here.
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