Tag Archives: wine
Wine Soak @ Signal-Return: Introduction to French Red Wine
It’s been a while in the making but a new Wine Soak event is finally here! We’re going to be drinking some kick-ass wines in a very cool space. Details are posted below.
http://www.eventbrite.com/
Wine Soak @ Signal-Return: Introduction to French Red Wine
When: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Thursday, April 25th
Where: Signal-Return – 1345 Division Street in Detroit’s Eastern Market
What’s the difference between the Loire Valley and the Rhone Valley? How is it that Languedoc-Rousillon produces a third of all wine in France yet you don’t see many bottles from this region on the wine store shelf? Why do some Burgundy and Bordeaux sell for hundreds of dollars a bottle? Does all Beaujolais smell like bubble gum? (No!) Can you find a good wine from any of these regions without taking out a loan? (Yes!)
We’ll explore these and other questions while hanging out and drinking at Signal-Return, a working letterpress studio that offers workshops and open studio time in the historic Eastern Market district. Our team of talented drinkers will select a specific red wine to represent each of six different regions of France: Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Languedoc, Loire, and Rhone. Each region will have its own short presentation, followed by open discussion.
If you’re hip to discovering new wine in a casual environment with a fine group of people, Wine Soak is where it’s at.
Wine Soak: Introduction to French Red Wine will be held on Thursday, April 25th at 1345 Division Street in Detroit’s Eastern Market. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Presentations will begin at 7:00 and end at 8:30. Limited seating is available for the ridiculously low price of only $30 per person. Cost includes a pre-game glass of sparkling wine, 2 oz. pours of six different wines, and pizza from Supino Pizzeria.
Wine Soak is a wine tasting and discussion series designed for all levels, from novice to professional. Each event covers a different varietal, region, or theme, with a brief review of wine basics, sampling of six to eight different wines, and a rotating venue. No posing. No bullshit.
Special thanks to Southeast Michigan’s Premier Merchant of French and Spanish Wine since 1992, Elie Wine Company.
Tasting Notes from the Cellar
There are lots of ways to put together a collection of older wines. Collect and store them in a cellar, buy them from a reputable merchant who has stored them, steal them from a friend, find a store that has found a so-called library release of wines aged at the winery, et cetera. Each of these methods (Except stealing. I think.) were put to use a couple weeks back when a group of us got together to drank some older wines.
A few notes, recorded for posterity’s sake…
1979 Roagna Barbaresco
Delicious from the start, this might have been my favorite wine of the evening, opening up to a beautifully tart and fruity wine with very noticeable spicy and herbal undertones. Tarragon? Mint? Tobacco? Umami? A really nuanced wine that moved from being a bit tannic to downright light and lively. As Todd said, the “most complete wine” of the evening.
1989 Beaucastel, Chateauneuf de Pape
Earthy and big to start, it finished with an edge that smoothed out and opened up over time. A little funk early on that blew off quickly. Lots of fruit, though, even from the onset. Steve observed it might be on the downside of its life. But after a couple of hours, the leather and tannin subsided a bit. Pretty classic; a fine drink.
1999 Antoine Arena, Patrimonio
Dark, deeply colored, full of sediment, brooding aromas to start. Dirty, tannic, earthy wine. Some minerality and acid. Looks brooding, full of flavor, but surprisingly youthful. I wish I’d taken more detailed notes, but the general sentiment was that this was in a good place. Steve observed in retrospect that it was hard to wrap his head around this, and I agree: It was the biggest of the all and came late in a long night of drinking.
1990 Bongran Macon Clesse
Remarkably unique. Truly. Drew a chorus of quizzical looks and comments. Todd described the aromatics as being a lot like coffee beans, and Putnam began to latch onto that as a descriptor for the flavor as well. I think I see what they were getting at in terms of a the long, slow, earthy quality of the fruit. Floral and honey notes. Not sweet but clearly botrytized grapes. Lots of tropical fruit but not of the predictable sort found in so many overly engineered wines. Some in the group felt it would be hard to drink this in any serious quantities, me among them, but it’s hard to deny its brilliance.
1996 Dugat-Py Bourgogne Rouge
I wonder what this cost on release. No famed crus on the label. Just good wine in the bottle that has lasted until now. Light, refreshing, but still structured. As Putt said, it’s “chuggable.” Of course, Putt thinks whiskey is “chuggable.” But still, I tend to agree. We also had a 1995 Marechal Pommard, and the Dugat-Py was in a far better place. The other was gnarled and dare I say backward whereas this was simply pretty.
1999 Juge Cuvee C Cornas
Coming after a puckeringly tart Morgon and even the Chateauneuf, this was downright jammy. Young and fruity. A nice dose of acid, but compared to other wines, this really seemed sweet. Delicious but didn’t really suck me in the way some others did.
Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly: Why This $20 Wine is Better
I’m always trying to sniff out bottles of wine that supply the most gratifying drinking experience for the price. Some people call these “value wines”.
But it ain’t easy.
The vast majority of wine under $10/bottle is made to be consumed immediately and with little fanfare. In this price range you’re going to find a lot of idyllic back label stories that read like tourist guides to the Elysium Fields. The truth is — and here you can make an honest comparison to the realm of domestic beer — as many beer-only drinkers find their ice-cold American lager brand of choice to be a flawless beverage no matter what the situation, some wine drinkers will swear by $6 bottles of perfectly unremarkable chardonnay. That’s fine if you just want to catch a buzz.
At a local Indian restaurant that “allows” BYOB, I watched as a threesome were seated and one of their party subsequently pulled out a bottle of white zinfandel and two cans of Busch Light from his jean jacket. It seems to me that if you’re going to surrender your taste buds to the relatively exotic flavors of the Indian Subcontinent, you ought to at least have a simple Riesling or a malty Pilsener to wash it all down. This merely illustrates that most of the time familiarity rules — especially when the price is right.
You can find a wine with character for $10-$15. A value wine. One that pops into mind is Domaine de la Fruitière Chardonnay. Here is a dry, white wine that probably won’t change your philosophy but it does combine the richness of chardonnay with the crisp mineral structure of traditional Muscadet, and when slightly chilled, drinks agreeably in the shade of an oak tree near your favorite swimming hole on a warm July day. If you’re one of those aforementioned, strict chardonnay drinkers, here is a risk-free way to expand your palate.
If you are a wine enthusiast with a limited budget and a desire to learn, the $15-$25 range is ripe with good wine of character. This is your sweet spot. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of ordinary wine with large brand marketing budgets in this group. A trustworthy wine merchant is vital to lead the way here.
The trustworthy wine merchant is going to carry things like Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly for a little less than $25. But what makes this particular wine better? Why is it three times the price of Yellow Tail merlot?
The reasons are many. For one, it’s drinkable. I have consumed at least a half dozen bottles of this wine in the past few months with different people. With the exception of one person that was exceedingly sensitive to tannins, we all loved it. But drinkable does not mean simple. A glassful is all berries and flowers and wet stones. It’s tart and refreshing, with a minerality that grips at the finish. There is an integration of aromas, textures and flavors that elevate this wine well above the grocery store bottles. In short, it tastes like more than just fermented fruit juice.
Secondly, it’s from somewhere. Part of the pleasure derived from fine wine is creating a connection to a place. In this case we can identify it from the Beaujolais winemaking region of France. Further, it is from Brouilly, one of ten Cru Beaujolais, (the highest category of classification in the region). Even further, this wine is from vineyards in the sub-district of Côte de Brouilly, from the steep slopes of Mont Brouilly, where the soil is composed of volcanic blue stone. It’s kind of like one of those international espionage movies that zoom into a spot on earth from a satellite camera in orbit, except we witness a grape farmer tending his vines, not the assassination of a high level diplomat.
And finally, for the enthusiast, it’s educational. Compare this wine to other Cru Beaujolais in the same price range. Because all are made from gamay grapes, you begin to get a sense of how climate and soil can affect the finished wine (terrior!). And because Cru Beaujolais can sometimes develop over three to ten years, you can afford to let a few of these sit in the cellar and see how they change with time.
A typical question from wine novices when confronted with wine prices ranging from $3 to $300 is: Do you get what you pay for? I’ve struggled with this question myself after I decided I that I really, really like wine. A lot. And I still struggle. The general answer is complex and can include things like hand-harvesting, barrel-aging. Both of which are applied to Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly. So, in this case, I believe it’s a resounding yes. Buy some and invite me over for drinks.
Drinking 2009 Jaboulet
Since the early 19th Century, Paul Jaboulet Aîné has been rocking folk’s taste buds with wine produced in France’s Rhône Valley. If you’ve ever browsed the French section of a wine store you’ve likely seen their Côtes du Rhône Parallèle 45, an entry-level southern Rhône blend of Grenache and Syrah.
But they built their reputation through parcels in the northern Rhône, Hermitage La Chapelle being the most famous. The 1961 vintage of Hermitage La Chapelle has achieved an almost mythical status among the wine cognoscenti (only $12k/bottle for those of you with a little extra disposable income).
Things weren’t as bright for Jaboulet through the 90s and into the new century. Production was up but quality was patchy. In 2006, the Frey family (proprietors of Chateau La Lagune in Bordeaux) purchased Jaboulet and applied sweeping changes that included a stricter selection process and significantly lower yields.
This is all just the long way of saying we hung out at Café Muse the other day and drank some 2009 Jaboulet with Elie. It was tasty.
My notes:
Châteauneuf du Pape “Domaine de Terre Ferme”
We started with the one southern Rhone in the bunch. Aromas of purple jelly led into wood smoke. Full body across the palate finishes long and herbal. This wine wanted to arm wrestle with me but I declined.
Côte Rôtie “Domaine des Pierrelles”
An elegant wine. On the nose there’s an initial hit of buttered toast and fruit compote that morphs into cedar and then flowers and then other lovely things our ancestors would know better than us. It somehow balances heft and grace like a ballerina that throws shot put as a hobby. All of the wines had plenty of acidity but it shone brilliant in this one, long and juicy. I’m writing this note a week later and I still get all tingly just thinking about it.
St. Joseph “Domaine de la Croix des vignes”
Fat with aromas of ripe fruit. Balanced across the center. There is weight here and also a long and dry finish sprinkled with powdery tannin.
Cornas “Domaine St. Pierre”
Immense nose of crushed berries and meat. Once you make it past the massive tannins a long and happy acidity shows. The provided tasting notes mention that you might want to cellar this monster for at least a decade before drinking. I believe those notes.
Crozes Hermitage “Domaine de Roure Rouge”
Heady aromas of stones, river banks, flowers, cedar closets, etc…all swirly and turning into steamed fruit and everything else. Fat, almost sweet through the middle yet finishes with a lively acidity. I can’t get my nose out the glass and I even save a bit for later sniffing.
Hermitage “La Petite Chapelle”
Nothing small about it. A dense and succulent drink of wine beneath scents of black currant liqueur and herbs.
Hermitage “La Chapelle”
If I counted off the aromas and flavors it would read like a French country village market shopping list including a side of beef. It is said that this wine will age 50 years. Grab a case and you might make your grandkids rich.
More New Wine at Slows
Editor’s note: Another appropriated communication on the subject of new wine at Slows from local wine authority, Putnam Weekley. Though intended solely to educate the staff, again, there is so much excellent general information on wine that it must be shared.
This week there are an unusually large number of new wines at Slows.
Gone, for now, are:
Ulacia Txakolina,
Verasol MCS,
Montsarra Cava,
Domaine Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon
Dr. Thanisch Riesling (“Sofia’s”)
New Items:
NV Lini 910 Lambrusco Rosé
2010 Thomas-Labaille Sancerre, Chavignol, Les Monts Damnés
2009 Didier Montchovet Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire
2008 Eugen Wehrheim Riesling Kabinett, Niersteiner Oelberg
2009 Vieux Chene, VdP Vaucluse, Cuvee de la Dame Vieille
LAMBRUSCO
The Lambrusco label will look familiar to most of you. Last year we carried a similar wine from the same producer, their “Rosso.”
This so-called Rosé is fairly dark in color. Think of it as a very light colored red. And while grouping wines into broad, visibly evident categories – Like “Rosé Wines” – is easy and quick, that approach will help explain conformist wines better than distinctive ones. In other words, we are right to prefer the renegade over the predictable. So before considering Lini’s Rosé you might want to forget what you know about pink wine.
Lambrusco is a grape variety associated with the Italian province of Emilia and the culturally rich city of Bologna. It is commonly equated with a sweet factory made drink sold under the Riunite brand. (“Riunite on Ice, So Nice.”) This, however, is quite a bit different. It’s dry, for one thing, and the wine-growing is on a smaller and slower scale. It is less processed.
Is it sparkling? Yes. To be more specific, it is frizzante, which means it has about half the gas of a Champagne-method wine.
The Lini family established their winery in 1910, hence the name.
A 5 oz. coupe holds about 4 oz. and it costs $7. A bottle is a sensational value at $28 and it is the easiest thing in the world to drink – not boozy, tannic or heavy – in fact the opposite.
It tastes delicious. It will not clash with any of our foods, so in one sense it will pair well with any of them. However, I think this is less of a food companion than it is a pure drinker, before a meal, after a shift, whenever drinking will be done.
SANCERRE
Sancerre is a French region in the upper Loire valley. White Sancerre is always 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Within Sancerre, the town of Chavignol is known to produce particularly ripe and sturdy wines. And there is one more distinction to mention, the vineyard: Les Monts Damnés. (Damnation Mountain)
Les Monts Damnés is a unique slope in Chavignol. It is aimed and curved toward the south in a way that amplifies the sun’s rays making for a unique ripening of the grapes. Here are photos of it: http://jimsloire.blogspot.com/2012/04/sancerre-monts-damnes-views.html
Kimmeridgian Marl makes up the soils in Burgundy, Champagne and Chavignol and it is the greatest dirt in the world!: http://www.winegeeks.com/articles/139
This is truly a rare find. I would be shocked if this were offered by the glass anywhere else in Michigan, or even in the Midwest. Slows sells a 5 oz. pour for $11, a bottle for $44. The only other restaurant I could find selling it in the country is in North Carolina where it is sold by the bottle for $52.
How does it taste? Rather like a Chablis-Sancerre hybrid of sorts. It is racy and scented of diverse fruits and plants: apples, citrus, apricot, dandelion stems, stone, and clover. It combines richness, persistence and precise detail in a unique way. By contrast, brand name Sauvignon Blanc wines from New Zealand will taste noticeably more herbaceous and of grapefruit, and cloying, with alcohols out of whack. Other wines from Sancerre are leaner and more ephemeral than this. This bottle can develop and reward patience as it ages.
Your takeaway: While this is indeed “a Sauvignon Blanc,” selling it as such would be wildly short of the mark. This is a classic Les Monts Damnés, a great Sancerre, and if it can even be considered representative of Sauvignon Blanc, this is one of its greatest expressions found on earth.
This will pair well with the Slows cheese trio – mac, hoffmans, and enchiladas. Also it will complement blackened catfish, rare salmon, and the various chicken based items – wings, yardbird, strut, breast.
BGO – BOURGOGNE GRAND ORDINAIRE
Everyone knows Red Burgundy – or Bourgogne Rouge – is made from Pinot Noir. But there are two exceptions: Passetoutgrains, which is typically a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir, and Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire. In this case we are drinking a wine made from Gamay. Gamay, incidentally, is the grape that makes Beaujolais in its region just to the south.
This is a good example of strictly “Natural Wine.” The grapes are certified biodynamic and almost nothing was added to the wine during fermentation and aging. The idea is to capture the whole taste of the fruit and the vineyard. And indeed, this is a charming bundle of Gamay goodness, tempered with a bit of bottle age. It is light bodied, dry and berryish on the palate. And as its fruit-flavored baby fat has worn away over time, there is emerging a distinctive earthy flavor that might remind you of Agave (see Mescal and Tequila.) This comes from the whole pulpy mess of fruit and the diverse microbes that get the fermentation going after the grapes are picked. In a perfect world I’d like to see this served a bit cooler than room temperature. Ice-bathe the bottle for 3-5 minutes if you want to see what I mean.
Consider allowing someone asking for “Pinot Noir” to taste this (and with an additional sample of the Rayos Uva Rioja they will know the two best and very different alternatives.)
Pair this with pork in all its forms, but especially in the form of a Reason sandwich.
$8 / $32
OIL MOUNTAIN RIESLING
This Riesling has been seen on our list twice before. It is from a single vineyard in the German region of Rheinhessen and it is off-dry, semi-sweet, fruity – whatever you want to call it. The reason it’s sweet is that Riesling, and wines from this far north in general, tend to have so much natural acidity that residual fruit sugar is an important balancing element to the flavors. The Oelberg (Oil Mountain) vineyard is in the township of Nierstein, and it is one of the few esteemed vineyard sites in the Rheinhessen.
The best way to experience Riesling is to concentrate on the aromas. There is really a lot going on in there. Smell it for at least a minute before you even take a taste. Red apples, preserved lemons, flinty mineral and stone sensations, and all of it is fairly intense and organized.
This wine certainly can pair with fish and chicken, but there is one unorthodox pairing that I like even better: brisket. There is a groomed classic personality to both the wine and the meat that speak to each other. The meat does not “overwhelm” the wine, or at least not completely. Consider having that with a side of green beans and potato salad or sweet mash.
Still $7 / $28
RHONE
Vieux Chene (Old Oak) is an estate in the hills that join the Rhone Valley to Provence in southern France. This is from a certified organic farm.
It is made with Grenache from very old vines (old vines produce more concentrated and complex wine) and younger plantings of Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Merlot. This is a perfectly ripe, dry and drinkable every day red wine. It’s lack of pretense and complication is in direct proportion to its charm, good flavor and utility.
This will pair well and complement virtually everything on the menu. Vieux Chene rocks.
Medium-bodied. $6 / $24 … another astonishing bargain
http://www.bouche-duvieuxchene.com/wines/fiande2.htm
WHITE PORT
I’ve become a little obsessed with our Ferreira White Port. As a concept, White Port has a few knocks against it. 1) It is not an antique tradition – the first white port was bottled sometime in the past 100 years, and there is little coherence to the various styles that would exemplify it. 2) It is an obscure subset of an already niche wine, that being the standard ports, ruby and tawny, made with red grapes. And 3) There are some expectedly shoddy “white port” knockoffs made in the central valley of California which tend to appear in liquor stores in poor neighborhoods – a perfectly legitimate if quick and cheap alcohol high.
This wine however is worth some serious consideration and reflection. Comparisons to good Sherry and Madeira are warranted. All have a certain nutty aroma that does indeed invite pairing them with roasted almonds. All are fortified – meaning the natural sugar in the grapes was preserved by halting fermentation by way of an added dose of neutral grape spirits. So it’s strong and a bit sweet. But so, …, balanced. This has aromas and scents of baked apples, peppered candied lemons, fresh figs, hazelnuts, apricots, and rainier cherries.
This is typically thought of as an aperitif (moreso in France) or digestif (moreso in England) but I had a hunch that this would actually pair well with a JP’s revenge. So on Friday I sat at table 209 and tested my theory. It was the wine and sandwich equivalent of bacon on a Chuck Norris, or to name a sanctioned classic, Sauternes and Fois Gras. Two incredibly rich and succulent flavors brought together to amplify and complement the other. And in spite of the decadent flavors, it actually made a rejuvenating meal.
That’s plenty to think about for now. Please call, write or see me to offer your insights or to pose questions.
Thanks for reading,
Putnam
New Wine at Slows
Editor’s note: We appropriated this communication on the subject of new wine at Slows from local wine authority, Putnam Weekley. It was originally intended solely to educate the staff but we thought there was so much excellent general information on wine in these few paragraphs that it had to be shared.
Here are three new wines on our list, and I seriously adore all of them. So give credit to Tara for gettin’ em, and blame goes to me if you manage somehow to find fault with them. Item by item:
2010 Rioja, Rayos Uva. $9 / $36
Short version: this is our closest thing to the common notion of “Merlot.” Dark. Ripe, assertive fruit tannins. In terms of suggested fruits and spices, it is more linear than exotic. Considering the alternatives – at Slows now - this wine will also be the nearest thing to the common notion of “Pinot Noir.” (It’s like a Bugey Pinot with more density.) But please note, comparisons to warm weather Pinot Noir grown in fertile soils (i.e. from Santa Barbara, Willamette, and Marlborough) are much harder to make. This wine is not fat or pumped up with flavors of Jäger, bruised strawberries and cola.
The comparisons to Merlot and Pinot Noir are conveniently suggested by the biography of the winegrower. Olivier Rivière studied enology in the heartland of Merlot (Montagne St. Emilion, Bordeaux) and later worked at the great Burgundy estate of Domaine Leroy, famous for its biodynamic Pinot Noir vines.
Rayos Uva is 100% Tempranillo farmed organically and aged in large vats. It can be considered a Tinto, bottled younger than Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva. Oftentimes Rioja – particularly common Reserva – is associated with barrel-aged wines which can taste rather more of leather, vanillin, and tobacco. In this case by contrast, vat aging results in a wine more reminiscent of fresh fruit, ripe skins, and scented of minerals.
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2010 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, La Quercia – $7 / $28
Look in any wine shop, or any list at an Italian restaurant. There are a LOT of wines bearing the appellation “Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.” (mōn-tā-pool-CHYA-nō : da-BROOTS-ō) In a crowded field of red wines competing for fickle consumer attention, common entries often exhibit signs of a winemaking arms race. There is ever more extraction, more alcohol, and more wood flavoring. While that aggressive style may indeed get attention, after exposure it can become tiring in a hurry.
La Quercia’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is different. Hand work, organic farming and minimal interventions have resulted in a wine that – while appropriately tannic and robust – leaves the palate refreshed and wanting more of its whole fruit and spice.
Let’s iron out a common point of confusion. This wine is made from the Montepulciano grape variety grown in the southern Italian region of Abruzzo. No problem there. However, there happens to be a more prestigious wine from the Tuscan town/comune also called Montepulciano, the best wines from which are called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The latter is made from a local clone of the Sangiovese variety, which is the variety grown in neighboring Chianti and Brunello. The most likely reason for the shared name is that once-upon-a-time farmers in Abruzzi idealized the wines from Montepulciano and so used the name to describe their own vines which best emulated it. Such borrowing of names is very common in wine history; you could even regard it as the rule rather than the exception. (See California Burgundy, Chablis, and Madeira)
The upshot is this: it is not necessarily specific enough to refer to this wine only as Montepulciano. More completely put: it is a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. By the same token, asking for a “Pinot” could get you a cheap Italian white wine or a red wine from someplace like Oregon.
Short version: Montepulciano produces dark, tannic wines with a certain rustic edge. This sterling example is a good suggestion for someone looking for a “Malbec” or even a “Cabernet” (If the prices were reversed, and this were $9 while Domaine Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon were $7, I would gladly drink the Montepulciano for the higher price. This is not to say that our Cabernet Sauvignon is not solidly above average for things called Cabernet Sauvignon. It is.)
http://www.enjoysmall.com/wines/Wine/montepulciano-dabruzzo-doc
2010 Macon Charnay, Domaine Jean Manciat $9 / $36
Short version: 100% Chardonnay, which should be assumed of all things White Burgundy. Slows carried this cuvée about five years ago. The intervening years have allowed these younger vines to accrue the benefits to wine-quality of age: deeper roots, harmonious micro cultures, and accumulated interactive experience with their farmer, Mr. Manciat.
Some context: The Macon region is the vast southernmost region of Burgundy. By nature, Macon white wines *should* be fatter and sweeter than comparably situated wines in the more northern Burgundy regions of the Cote d’Or (i.e. Chassagne Montrachet.) However, industrial farming and a collapsed market in the postwar period encouraged most farmers to produce thin, dilute and acidic wines. To some extent, especially with older wine drinkers, Macon is associated with this cheap type of Chardonnay, and it may even suit some wine drinkers. Jean Manciat’s Macon is one of a handful of notable exceptions to this old rule. In fact, with the perspective of a few decades, the Macon region is now a happy hunting ground for drinkers seeking distinctly delicious wines that wear very well on the palate, in an open bottle, and laid down in a cellar.
Serve cold, but enjoy it best at about 60 deg. F.
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A Pleasure So Exquisite
Blogging about eating or drinking some really exquisite, rare treat always feels funny to me. Mostly, I like to do it for the sake of aiding my memory, generally enfeebled by bourbon-pickled brain cells. And I like reading other people’s tasting notes too. But conversely, it feels a bit like bragging, which kind of sucks.
Despite that, I just had to write last night’s tasting notes down, both for posterity’s sake and for sharing. It’s a rare opportunity (for me, anyhow) to sit down with three good friends and drink five bottles of aged Bordeaux in great condition. Such an occasion requires some documenting, even if as the writer I’m the only one who ever bothers to read it.
We gathered in a cleaned out (sort of), empty cinder block building in Detroit, four of us with five wines, a small folding table, and a few chairs.
1979 Haut-Bages Liberal (Paulliac)
There are sensations, some hard to describe, unique to older wines. Initially quite musty, damp, and funky, the aromatics on this wine gave way to a lot more lively fruit. From the onset, it tasted fresh and alive with some grippy tannin in the finish; but as the evening wore on and we re-visited the wine two more times, light, fleshy fruit flavors dominated with a really bright, youthful acidity. Delightful stuff.
1978 Prieure-Lichine (Margaux)
Aromatically challenged to start, this might have evolved the most over the course of the evening. Early on, there was just a bit of soft fruit on the nose. Eventually, it became noticeably more menacing (in an exciting way) with darker, woodier notes. Tasted perfectly fine from the get go, albeit with a bit of a vegetal finish, but it got considerably more nuanced, meaty, and leathery as the evening wore on with a much more focused, almost minty quality at the end of each sip.
1981 Palmer (Margaux)
Steve commented during our first glass of this that he thought 1981 was a bit underrated, and based on our limited evidence, I think we all agreed. There was a big, distinctive cabernet sauvignon nose with just a bit of a gnarly, rustic edge to it. Immediately captivating. Definitely the weightiest, fullest, richest of our three oldest wines. Quite tannic but still fruity, acidic, and ripe. Killer wine worthy of the venerable name (and totally bad ass label).
1998 Gruaud Larose (St. Julien)
Disclaimer: I love this producer. It’s rustic, edgy, and funky, and I think it’s magnificent. I’ve had the good fortune of tasting some great vintages of this wine, and it’s never disappointed me. This was no exception. Dense and still young, though not so wound up as to seem premature to have opened it. As the evening wore on, the aroma showed more juicy, grapey, dark fruit qualities and finished with a sharp, savory characteristic.
1996 Leoville-Poyferré (St. Julien)
In a word, this was INTENSE. Still too young. All coiled up and restrained, just about ready to explode. This is on its way up to a glorious place. Toasty, woody aromatics. Soft tannins. Dark fruit and lively finish but still reserved. This just envelopes one’s entire palate and finishes with a subtle stony edge. It’s a big wine, but it was still quite elegant. Great drinking now, even better later.
I’d discussed with Steve in the past how it seems like there are just certain nights when everything clicks. This was one of those nights: Five older wines, each one alive and entirely spot on. We should have hit the casinos afterwards. (But instead we had beer, a decision with which I have no argument.)
Cellared wines are an entirely different beast from what’s typically available in the store, and despite the pretentiousness one could quite easily read into the cost and/or effort involved in drinking aged wines, anyone who were to spend time with bottles like these would comprehend and possibly participate in the obsession. A perfect night.
A Pop Up, Prosit!
German food might be a bit undervalued in the States. People eat bratwurst and drink lager to be sure, but restaurants that serve a lot of schnitzel, spätzle, and sauerkraut aren’t terribly common. We’ve got a few here in the area, and they’re perfectly fine, but I was nonetheless pretty excited to hear that the meat making mavens at Porktown Sausage and wine (and pretzel) guru were teaming up for a German-themed pop-up called Schnäck at Eastern Market’s Supino Pizzeria.
From my perspective, the first (hopefully of many) iteration, held last night, Sunday, March 18, seemed to go pretty well.
Putnam was pouring a solid kolsch-style beer on draft as well as serving the always delicious Kapuziner Weisse and three different German wines. (For what it’s worth, I think Kapuziner is easily one of the best wheat beers in the world; it has that marvelous banana/clove aroma without the same estery flavor and sweetness. It finishes dry despite the aroma, and it’s one of the few wheat beers that I find “sessionable” as a result.)
All of the food was good – I’m pretty sure we tried everything on the menu except the charcuterie plate – though as I recall the sausage and pretzel were the universal favorites among our crowd. Porktown really has their knackwurst formula down to a science, it seems – perfect flavor, perfect texture – and Putnam’s pretzel is a can’t miss item, especially with a dollop of their mildly spicy homemade mustard. The meal ended with a pleasant surprise: Molly O’Meara from Beau Bien made an apple strudel. Not too sweet and surprisingly light, which struck me just right on a day that closed in on 75 or 80 degrees.
Check out the Schnäcksters on Facebook.
Wine Soak: Sauvignon Blanc
Gourmet Underground Detroit is pleased to announce Wine Soak: Sauvignon Blanc.
As the warmer months approach, our thoughts wander to breezy spring evenings and glasses filled with refreshing, white wine. We’ll explore the varietal, Sauvignon Blanc, from origins in France to its place in the New World.
Because Sauvignon Blanc is grown in so many regions, we’ll be able to travel a diverse wine path from dry to off-dry to sparkling. If you’re hip to discovering new wine in a casual environment with a fine group of people, Wine Soak is where it’s at.
Wine Soak: Sauvignon Blanc, will be held from 8 until 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 14th at a private gallery in Ferndale. Limited seating is available for $30 per person. Cost includes a pre-game glass of sparkling wine, 2 oz. pours of six different wines, and an assortment of light snacks.
Wine Soak is a wine tasting and discussion series designed for all levels, from novice to professional. Each event covers a different varietal, region, or theme, with a brief review of wine basics, sampling of six to eight different wines, and a rotating venue. No posing. No bullshit.
Click this link to reserve your seat
