Wine Outlook

I’ve been quite amiss with reporting my wine study group’s findings. Several co-workers and I meet up every other week or so to deepen our understanding of different wines and to keep our palates in practice. A couple months ago, we explored the Loire Valley and learned quite a bit about the styles of wine produced there. First up was the Champalou Vouvray Brut, made in the Methode Traditionelle at 12% alcohol. It had an interesting nose of fresh rain on pavement and apple, then a little dirty sock, and finally a taste of doughnuts. Next was the 2005 Andre’ Michel Bregeon Muscadet Sevre’ et Maine. A tad musty, it also showed chalk, grass, and orange zest. (more…)

Vouvray, Muscadet Sevre’ et Maine

My previous winetasting group is now defunct, what with crazy summer schedules, my no longer working with the majority of its members, and my current job location in the East Bay, with my residential address hopefully soon to follow. Therefore, I was quite pleased to find out about the study session at Rosenblum, where a group gets together weekly to explore different wine regions. Several people have been cramming for the sommelier exam and other such qualifications, and some just want to learn more for the heck of it.

The idea is for each person to bring one or two wines of an approximate value indicative of the area in the attempt to taste liquid representations of the land.

My first venture into this assembly was to be Bordeaux, probably one of my least travelled areas of France. I have not had many opportunities to taste wine from this region in my ten-year span of enological adventures. A couple of cheap-ish bottles here and there that didn’t do much for me and once a very small pour of a rather expensive bottle a couple ordered when I was waiting tables at a fancy little place in Mississippi. They were celebrating the woman’s completion of her thesis and spent the most any two people ever had before at a table of mine—nearly $500 and most of that was the wine: a Chateau Pichon-Longueville, if I recall. And I’ve got one bottle in my little wine fridge. A 2000 Saint-Emilion I almost brought to the tasting but decided to let it keep aging as these wines so often need to do. (more…)

winetasting group, Bordeaux

Our friend, the tax man, invited a few of us to Le Colonial a little while back. I’d never been there before and almost walked right past it in the alleyway. But I’m glad I made it to this dimly lit Vietnamese restaurant. The wine list had plenty of choices (including many split bottles) to make my choice that much harder. But with a need for a red (for me and my Irish friend) and a white (for the gents) due to our choices in entrees… I had a time making a decision. However, I was pleased with both bottles AND with the fact that the server had me taste them both as I had ordered them! (more…)

Le Colonial

My tasting group was not the most organized affair this time. At the last meeting we chose a theme but never really decided on a date. Therefore, after throwing an e-mail out last week, only a few people followed through and we ended up changing it from Thursday to Monday. With the last-minute assignment and a not-so-common variety (Chenin Blanc), there was a bit of stress for some in finding a bottle. We still managed to survey seven different bottles: three from France and four from California.

Chenin Blanc is quite versatile, capable of extreme sweetness, sparkling versions, or fair-to-mediocre table wine. It has a long history in the Loire Valley, where it can sometimes have too much acidity, depending on ripeness. It seems the best versions there are sweet, with hints of honey and damp straw. The grape has gained great popularity in South Africa, sometimes referred to as Steen. Winemakers are striving to avoid that mediocrity that seems to come too easily to the grape. California also grows its fair share of Chenin Blanc, where it’s usually relegated to blends. Very few producers give it much attention, but Clarksburg seems to be one area that provides some interesting versions.
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Chenin Blanc

Wine Blogging Wednesday got away from me this time. When picking up a bottle of wine after a long day of work, I knew there was more to it than just grabbing something from Languedoc-Roussillon but could not remember the specifics. Hopefully, Doktor Weingolb won’t be too hard on me because Trader Joe’s didn’t have any choices over $5. (That, and I usually adhere to the WBW rules very well….) Apparently, this southern region of France is known for producing wines of great value, with the $15-30 category representing the ideal range. It seems that many vineyards are passed down through families, and the wine-making techniques are simple and inexpensive. For example: using concrete containers instead of new oak barrels and bottling off-site.

The bottle that followed me home this time was 2005 Chapelle du Bois Syrah. Syrah comes in as the third most-planted grape, after Carignan and Grenache. Though the Languedoc produces the most Vin de Table, this particular wine is Vin de Pays. However, this also seems to be the region most likely to have the AC qualifications ignored in favor of making good wine without the fuss. This particular wine had notes of bell pepper and cherry on the nose. The palate was fairly hot initially, though the heat quickly subsided. It very fruity, with cherry and currant, and what I first attributed to dirt turned out to be more like gravel. I enjoyed it, especially for that price, but the wine did not go well with my BBQ chicken pizza. Perhaps the big, spicy California Syrahs I’m used to clouded my pairing abilities. But I can’t hold that against this one.

….Farley Walker

Wine Blogging Wednesday, Languedoc-Roussillon, 2005 Chapelle du Bois Syrah