Recently I revisited the inaugural vintage of Arkenstone's sauvignon blanc. The 2006 was richer than I remembered it-- time had worked a number on this one. Tartrates had fallen away, acids had mellowed, and a seemingly riper fruit manifested. Still though, the wine was lush and pleasurable. This is truly a unique producer on Howell Mountain.
I'll always remember the first time I had the Arkenstone wines at a lunch circa 2009. They're made by Sam Kaplan-- an inquisitive and thoughtful winemaker-- whose style had that unique balance of power and restraint. When this wine was made these were baby vines, recently planted in 1998, and the 2006 was their first ever release. I'm not a fan of the sauvignon blancs that scream for attention-- but here was one that had depth and power, yet a stoicness to it. It reminded me of a great white Bordeaux. But aside from evokation of other regions, the wine had its own distinct personality. It was quiet, yet full of strength-- just like Sam himself.
Recently I revisited the inaugural vintage of Arkenstone's sauvignon blanc. The 2006 was richer than I remembered it-- time had worked a number on this one. Tartrates had fallen away, acids had mellowed, and a seemingly riper fruit manifested. Still though, the wine was lush and pleasurable. This is truly a unique producer on Howell Mountain.
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Cool-climate syrahs have captured my fancy over the last couple of years, and I've been particularly interested in domestic versions that are able to capture the grace of this particular grape variety. Kivelstadt's 'The Inheritance' is an organic, small production (200 case!), native yeast-fermented syrah. The grapes are from a tiny vineyard in Sonoma, and they produce this great example of the new-wave, high-quality, cool-climate syrahs that are changing the wine landscape. I hunt for these beauties in regions that are known for growing grape varieties that favor a slightly cooler climate, such as pinot noir. Syrah and pinot noir share a unique dialogue: syrah can just ripen in places where pinot noir can thrive; it can live on the fringe in a pinot noir-prominent region. If a region is known for pinot noir, I look into who is growing syrah there, and that's a wine that has potential to be extraordinary. Such syrahs can still be dense and powerful, but instead of presenting jammy fruit aromas and flavors, they tend to be herbaceous and smokey, peppery, highly interesting, and perfect with savory food. Kivelstadt 'The Ineritance' syrah 2009 (Sonoma, CA) 200 case production - 30% whole cluster - 18 mo in French oak - 30% new oak Jordan Kivelstadt Jordan runs the winery with the help of his parents and good friend, Alex Pomerantz. In addition to 'The Inheritance' syrah, the team also makes a skin-fermented white wine, old-vine carignane, a pinot noir, and a few others. 'The Inheritance' refers to something Jordan's parents have established for him, and something he hopes to pass on to his own children. Jordan's surname is a blend of both his parents' last names (Nancy Kivelson & Tom Angstadt); and the winery as a whole is an extension of the family's unique amalgamation of kinship and identity. Sean Thackrey is one of the more interesting people making wine in California. Once an art dealer in San Francisco, he moved to Bolinas, planted some vines, and started sourcing fruit from friends. His collection of ancient texts-- some almost 1,000 years old-- helps to inform his winemaking philosophies. He'll make wine as they did centuries ago. At times, he will leave the harvested grapes out under the stars to ferment, then name these wines after the constellations that oversee their transformation. This Orion is from vines that were 90 years old at the '96 harvest, from the Rossi vineyard in St. Helena. The grapes were planted just before WWI & Prohibition, and survived both. This was quite a beautiful wine-- stunning really-- and Thackrey has certainly succeeded in revealing the individuality of this particular vineyard, which--at the time-- he believed to be mostly syrah. Since then, Carol Meridith at UC Davis has DNA-identified the vines as mostly petite sirah.* One thing that always strikes me about Thackrey's wines are the complex aromatics. The nose is always changing and dancing, as images dance through a fog or mist as you pass by them, so do aromas emerge and retreat to and from these wines. Sometimes you'll smell purple flowers, then meat, then your grandma's house. It's such interesting wine to drink, and soul stirring. *Thanks to Allan Bree for pointing out the research that led to the Rossi vine identification as petite sirah. An earlier version of this post left the possible vineyard genetics in question. -April 23rd 2014
1980 is a terrible global vintage, but it's my vintage, and so every year when my birthday comes around, I try to find exceptions to the norm. I've had great luck with 1980 Rioja, and I wasn't sure about California until I received this bottle as a gift and tried it. Wow! I opened this up at a party with the appropriate company of great friends and a serious cheese plate. I love watching these low alcohol California cabernets age. They are amazing. Kalin Cellars cabernet sauvignon 1980 (Santa Barbara, CA) The interesting thing about the flavor profile of this was an intense pepper on the nose- green bell pepper and black peppercorns. I spoke with some collector friends about this, and they mentioned that this pepper nose is a characteristic of Santa Barbera cabernet. It was a far cry from standard California cabernets, and a real treat to enjoy! Founded by Terry & Frances Leighton in 1977, Kalin's approach to winemaking is long term. These wines are released late and they are meant to be drunk with age. Do they hold up? Yes! I had an amazing dinner at Saison in San Francisco! Scroll down for some photos of the experience: pineapple uni There's nothing more decadent than uni with some gold. caviar lemongrass salmon heirloom tomatoes Australian truffles! crispy greens mushroom, liver, and maple foam lemon, raspberry, basil buds buckwheat tea I work with a mostly New Zealand wine list at The Musket Room restaurant in Manhattan. As one of the few restaurants in the states that celebrates New Zealand cuisine (thanks to our Auckland native chef, Matt Lambert!) we also find ourselves celebrating other New Zealand feats, like yesterday's incredible Louis Vuitton Cup race-- the final qualifying race series before the boats compete for the America's Cup. The New Zealand team, Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ), won both races against the Italian team, Luna Rossa. They are racing each other up to 13 times-- the best of 13 will race the American team, Oracle, for the America's Cup. This means that the first team to score seven wins will move on to the next round. Yesterday's races brought New Zealand up to 4 wins.... three more to go! I'm in San Francisco for a New Zealand wine seminar held in the ETNZ boatyard! Yesterday, we got to see the race from the water-- I was texting race updates back to The Musket Room kitchen so they'd know who was winning! There was much cause for celebrating after the race, and we did so with some great New Zealand wines at dinner. Here are some stunning photos that we snapped of the race! These markers help define the course, and serve as a finish line. You can see the Bay Bridge in the background. ETNZ sails down the coast line, taking advantage of the current patterns near the shore. We had a great view of the bay from our bow! I couldn't resist DiCaprioing and doing a 'King of the World' pose! We sailed up to the Golden Gate Bridge-- one of the most amazing structures in the world! On board, tasty New Zealand treats kept us satiated. These are pikelets- similar to baby pancakes. (....and if they look good, you can try them from The Musket Room brunch menu!). ETNZ with the San Francisco skyline. Here she is with a lead in the first race. Ross Blackman (an original founder of the team) talked us through the race. Yes, I asked what his favorite New Zealand wine is. He reports, "I don't want to sound boring, but I love sauvignon blanc." He also loves Central Otago pinot noir. So do we, Ross! During the race, the Italian boat, Luna Rossa, came around a bend just meters from our boat! Here she is coming right at us before the turn! She made the turn and brushed right by us! The crew was working hard! <-- Luna Rossa is in pursuit of ETNZ. Before the second race the boats sail by each other, sizing up the opponent... During turns and at high speeds, the boats literally fly up out of the water. <-- You can see this boat flying around a turn. Here we have another lift off! As ETNZ sailed across the finish line of the second race, the boat was high up out of the water, flying at 46 knots! (That's a very high speed! Most of the race happened between 10 and 23 knots). This was an incredible sight to behold as the boat whizzed by us! Back in the boatyard we caught a glimpse of the back-up wing. Disassembling the boats is a pretty interesting process. As ETNZ sailed around the harbor on a victory lap, this huge crane lifted Luna Rossa out of the water, and the Italian team spent a half an hour separating the sail from the body of the boat! <-- Here is the boat, suspended about 8 feet off the ground as the team removes the foils and prepares the sail for removal. The crane slowly lowers the sail for storage.... You can see all of the ETNZ supporters celebrating on the porch-- it was a great day! I'm spending a few days in San Francisco! I'm here for a New Zealand wine masterclass; and because nothing goes better with New Zealand wine than an amazing New Zealand boat team, the class is followed by a boat ride on the bay to watch the ETNZ (Emirates Team New Zealand) compete for a place in the America's Cup race! There is really no better way to get a handle on geography than to have a giant table map. This one is state of the art, and includes the most recent NZ wine region, Waitaki Valley! I've met some extremely cool people on this trip, including.... two of Canada's greatest sommeliers! That's Veronique Rivest on the left-- she just won second place in the Concours Meilleur Sommelier du Monde competition! And there's Will Predhomme in the middle-- he runs a fierce wine program at Canoe in Toronto. The Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) was prepping their boat for the race today; it was very special to see them work on it! These are the giant wings! To stay fit the team has a gym just off the waterfront! We are getting schooled on New Zealand wine history, and it is very fun to drink back vintages of these greats, like this Palliser Estate pinot noir- this was one of the most delicious pinot noirs I have ever tried from Martinborough! And this Sileni 1998 Bordeaux Blend. We are reacquainting ourselves with a different kind of NZ sauvignon blanc; here's a neat one from a flight of non-Marlborough sauvignon blanc that was very eye opening: Mills Reef 'Reserve' sauvignon blanc, 2012 (Hawke's Bay, New Zealand) Aged pinot gris from Hawke's bay? This Bilancia 2009 was incredibly interesting! The beautiful "Leah" pinot noir by Seresin was so delicate. We also got to try this very special Fromm 'La Strada' syrah from Marlborough. Things got a bit sticky towards the end of the tasting (in a good way!) with: Seifried "Sweet Agnes" 2012 riesling (Nelson) Forrest "Botrytised" 2011 riesling (Marlborough) Jules Taylor 2011 late harvest sauvignon blanc (Marlborough) We took a walk to Waterbar, with a lovely NZ wine focus (they also pour Moa beer!). Here, there are giant aquariums that stretch from floor to ceiling, and a three-person team of oyster shuckers keeps up with the demand. Then it was off to Prospect restaurant for dinner, where the bartenders measure spirits with gold jiggers! We ended with a nightcap at Sky Bar, which has super-friendly staff and a great view of the city. We recently had the idea to cook an epic dinner-- epic in the Homeric sense. This ended up being 25 courses, and the catch was that each course had to be grilled in some way. We came up with this fun name: The Gr-Iliad. Since we were doing so many courses, the main goal was to keep things an simple as possible. This was one of the most fun meals I have ever had: Oysters, Gewurztraminer Gelee, Lavender We started off with oysters warmed on the grill, lavender flowers, and gewurztraminer gelee. The pairing was a floral, spicy gewurztraminer, and it was perfect! Melon Soup with Grilled Speck We pureed up some sweet honeydew with mint, and topped it with grilled speck crumbles. Torchon with Grilled Apricots Next up was a torchon topped with a grilled apricot. And there's nothing like a little 1985er auslese to go along with a torchon. Fritz Haag 'Brauneberger Juffer- Sonnenuhr' Auslese 1985 (Mosel, Germany) Hot Dog, Mustard, Shallots We made fresh miniature hot dog buns, and served bites of Niman Ranch dogs topped with whole grain mustard and shallots. An ice cold beer is perfect for washing down a great dog, and we cracked this one: Maine Beer Company "Peeper Ale" (Portland, Maine) Scallop, Dill Pickle This was so simple yet so delicious. We made homemade dill pickles a couple days before, and their acidity and crunch went great with the richness of the grilled scallop. Salmon, Roe, Creme Fraiche, Parsley Here we grilled a nice fish from the market and garnished it with parsley cut fresh from our garden. Smoked Hummus, Pita, Carrot, Cucumber The day before we smoked some hummus on the grill, and we served this with fresh veggies and grilled pita bread. Tuna, Tomato, Oregano Simple grilled tuna with a slice of heirloom tomato from our garden and fresh cut oregano. Grilled Pineapple, Serrano Here we played off the simple combination of pineapple and ham. Chicken, Avocado, BBQ Tuille This was a very cool dish. Instead of putting BBQ sauce on the chicken we made a crunchy tuille out of the sauce, and it gave this simple dish a nice crunch. Smoked Mozzarella Raviolo and Greenmarket Peas The day before we picked up some fresh mozzarella from an Italian market and smoked it on the grill. We mixed this with fresh peas and stuffed it into fresh pasta. It's garnished with olive oil and pea shoots. Bacon, Cipollini, Tarragon We grilled a whole slab of bacon then served it with grilled onion and fresh tarragon slices. Pork, Corn Salsa, Tortilla Corn Tacos! We grilled the corn and the pork, then warmed up the tortillas over the flames. We served this with: Kistler "Hudson Vineyards" 2001 (Carneros, California) The richness of the chardonnay went great with the fattiness of the pork and the intensity of the corn. Maitake Mushroom, Saba, Pesto There is nothing quite as intoxicating as the aroma of a grilled maitake mushroom. We touched it up with an herbaceous pesto and a few drops of sweet saba. Lamb Burger, Mint Yogurt, Black Sesame Roll We made fresh buns, then grilled them with the burgers. The mint yogurt is made with fresh mint from our garden. Someone brought a magnum of Barolo & we opened that right about now. Asparagus, Parmesan So simple, but grilled asparagus is one of life's sweet pleasures. Steak, Herb Butter, Bronx Lettuce Sprouts We grew baby lettuce in our window box, and cut it at the last minute to garnish this bite of steak. Pan Con Tomate, Midnight Moon Cheese Pan Con Tomate- one of the greatest foods ever invented, and made for the grill. We added slices of gouda-like cheese, Midnight Moon, made by Cowgirl Creamery. Blue Cheese, Smoked Cherries We smoked these cherries the night before and it gave a great smokey depth to the cheese. Ambrosia I grew up having ambrosia at every picnic-- it's marshmallows, sour cream, fruit and coconut. Overnight, the marshmallows set with the sour cream into a pudding. We grilled the coconut inside, and topped them with blueberry slices. For the dessert courses we opened up a bottle of: Barboursville "Phileo"(Monticello, Virginia) Fennel Sorbet, Grilled Fennel, Grapefruit We grilled some fennel a few days prior to the dinner, then we spun this grilled fennel into a sorbet and stuffed it into hollowed out grapefruit shells. We topped this with grilled fennel and grapefruit segments. At the last second we torched the grapefruit for a great aroma. Mango, Coconut Sticky Rice, Grape Leaf Mango and Sticky Rice is one of my favorite foods, but grilling it was difficult. We decided to wrap this dessert in grape leaves and grill those. The grape leaves are from the vines in our backyard. Cinnamon Bun, Orange Baked goods on the grill proved challenging, but I took a cue from an old camping trick I learned a while back. You can bake over grills and fires by putting your dough into citrus shells. The shells withstand the heat nicely and keep you dough moist, plus they add a pleasant aroma. S'Mores Homemade graham crackers, homemade marshmallows, and chocolate- the best S'more I have ever had! Winemaker Angela Osborne has a love affair with grenache- and I have to admit it is pretty infectious! Angela is a sweetheart who dedicates these wines to her grandmother (her name was Grace). She's from New Zealand where grenache has a difficult time growing in most of the regions. After a long search to find a place to grow her favorite grape, she ended up in California. Tribute to Grace "Santa Barbera Highlands Vineyard" grenache, 2009 (Santa Barbera, California) Tribute to Grace "Vogelzang Vineyard" grenache, 2009 (Santa Barbera, California) What makes her wines so special? She grows grenache in biodynamic vineyards in California. She ferments the wines using partial carbonic, so the grenache is very light, and has a texture and body that would remind you of a rich pinot noir. These are some of the most delicate expressions of grenache that I have ever tried, and the aromatic complexity is ever-unfolding!
Here are some lovely wines from California. Durell Vineyard was planted by Ed Durell in 1979. Ellie Price and Chris Towt bought Durell from Ed in the late 1990s. Essentially, they've been growers who have sold fruit to several big names in the California wine industry. As they grew to know the Durell vineyard they began to recognize the quality from a particular block they call the Ranch House Block. They replanted this block with chardonnay and pinot noir-- particularly masal chardonnay and 5 specific clones of pinot noir. They stopped selling the fruit from Ranch House Block and recently began producing their own wine with it, under the name Dunstan (First vintage of Dunstan was 2008). So, Chris and Ellie are essentially committed growers who continue to sell fruit, but also make some of their own wine. I once believed that good wine could only come from an estate, or from leased lands, and that contracted fruit could never make the grade. I always had it in the back of my mind that if the winemaker wasn't growing the fruit, they'd never get anyone who cared about the fruit enough to really grow it right. My position is evolving and changing on this issue, especially in regards to California/Oregon winemaking traditions. Sometimes I come across committed growers like Ellie and Chris, and a whole alternate way of winemaking emerges. In an empirical way, it can sometimes make sense to separate growing and winemaking. If one group can dedicate themselves to the full time job of farming and pruning, and the other group can dedicate themselves to the winemaking and cellaring, then both parts of the equation can get the full attention they need from their overseers. The key, I think, is to find a grower who has the same values as the winemaker, and a winemaker who can work with the fruit to make the type of wine that the grower forsees as the vineyard's expression. When the growing and winemaking are separated, there are many more variables that can lead to decreased quality, but this does not necessarily have to be the case. This is a bit off topic, since Dunstan is just the opposite: a grower's transition into estate wine. But what stands out to me is that Chris & Ellie still contract out parts of Durell vineyard. They like to see what the winemakers will do with the fruit. They taste the different results and may say "Oh, I really like what so & so did with that chardonnay that year," or "that didn't turn out so well-- they wanted those grapes too ripe." As a grower, you get to experience terroir in a whole new way, because you can see first hand the prism of possibilities in your own vineyard during a single vintage, as several producers attempt to work with your grapes in their own unique manner. Over the years I've met plenty of winemakers who have contracts with growers, but they will specifically request to farm the land themselves. So many estate-less producers (who usually have plans to transition to estates) can do beautiful things with someone else's plot. It's also inspiring to see what has happened at Durell-- one plot stands out over time, and inspires the growers to start their own label. Durell vineyard is unique because of its location-- at the center of three terroirs. The Petaluma Wind Gap brings winds in from one side, Carneros hits them from another, and the lower Russian River Valley swoops in on the third side. There are three natural terraces on which the vines are planted, and the wine from the gap brings in-- like clockwork-- a rip of air each day at 3pm that helps keep the air cool and the grapes maintain their acidity. Dunstan "Durell Vineyard," 2010 chardonnay *14 mo. oak elevage, 100% old wente clones (hen & chick) *about 300 cases annual production Earthy, green herbs, soft fruit, a savory meatiness in the aroma. Elegant complexity, great acidity. Dunstan "Durell Vineyard," 2010 pinot noir *14 mo. oak elevage- new French. Here, the 5 different clones in the vineyard contribute to the complexity. Some clones were chosen "to bring out the high tones," while other "bring out the bass notes." *It was interesting to hear them talk about the clones like a composer talks about music, or a perfumer speaks about creating layers in a scent. *about 250 cases annual production Really interesting nose: meat, fruit, raspberry candies, chocolate, earth, anise, a hint of smoke. Very complex with a bright, cleansing acidity and a hint of spiciness on the finish. "Pip" is an interesting case of the grower-turned-winemaker-turned-contractor. This is a project to make a wine that is more price accessible (the Dunstan is pretty high quality and can be pricey). "Pip" is chardonnay that these growers contract from their neighbor growers. Pip -2010 (Sonoma Coast, Chardonnay) Tarter fruit aromas and flavors than the Dunstan, bright acidity, dense flavor. |
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ErinI’m Erin, and this is my wine blog. Here, you'll find information about wines from around the world, and Virginia. Top PostsArchives
March 2024
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