Domaine de la Folie - visit & tasting

 Visiting Domain de la Folie was an awesome surprise. We were greeted by Jérôme Noël-Bouton who told us the story of the winery, led us through the excellent wines that are made in the winery and engaged in a vivid and wonderful conversation on various topics ranging from wine to politics and in-between how does it feel when the next generation takes the reins of the winery. 

The winery was founded by Étienne-Jules Marey, the inventor of the chronophotographic gun, who is Jerome's great-grandfather. Now his daughter, Clémence along with her husband Baptiste manage the winery. We tasted two unique offering that this winery makes, that are traditional Burgundy and seem to be less "popular" or "modern": Ratafia and Marc de Bourgogne. 

Ratafia is unfermented grape juice, in this case it is 2/3 Aligoté mixed with 1/3 Marc de Bourgogne. The result is a strong and very pleasing fortified wine. Marc de Bourgogne goes through 30 years of maturation in Barrels and can easily beat some good Cognacs. 

Now to the excellent wines. Jerome shared with us (like other wine makers in Burgundy) that he prefers to drink his wines relatively early, they should be fresh. I agree with him when it comes to whites, but would rather give my reds a couple of years to mature (and sometimes way more than this) in order to show more complexity. 

2020 Clos du Chaigne - This has excellent aromas of honeysuckle, peaches and a flowery scent. It is well balanced and a wine that indeed can be enjoyed now. 

2020 Clos at Jacques - The aromas here are more complex with Apricots, minerals and honeysuckle, it has phenomenal balance with very nice acidity. This is a keeper! A wine that is comparable to "bigger" names and one that can be kept in the cellar for several years.
2020 Rully Cuvee Marey Clos de Bellecroix - We loved this wine, with aromas of cassis, strawberry and a scent of roses, which is well balanced with the oak and acidity this is great to drink now, but will continue and develop in the next couple of year. I'm keeping it for at least another 5 years before touching it.

Visit date: May 13th, 2022

Domaine Michel Mallard

 Visiting Domain Michel Mallard was a real treat. This is a family operation, founded by Michel's grandfather and managed by Michel. He is very passionate about his wines and their terroir. After tasting the wines, we became passionate about them as well!

Michel Mallard

Michel releases the wines several years after the vintage, when they are ready for drinking. While this is beneficial for us - wine consumers - it is great for the winery as it softens the ups and downs in grapes quantity and quality between good and bad years. For example, 2021 was a terrible year, due to frost, more than 50% of the crop was lost. With the practice of selling wines from several vintages at any given time, the downside of the bad vintage will not be too tough on the business. 

The wines are mostly matured in 350 Ltr. barrels, most of them are not new. This leads to a very delicate impact of the oak on the wines.  Michel prefers his wines relatively young, in order to enjoy the fruit and flowers aromas. 

Our Favorite Wines

2018 Ladoix 1er Cru, Les Grechons - One of the best Chardonnays we've had in the last 2-3 years. We felt that this is a top notch expression of the grape. It has a complex and interesting combination of minerals, nutmeg, apples and flowers. The finish is long and excellent. 

2017 Corton Grand Cru Le Rognet - Excellent red, it feels different for a reason: 70% new oak, 75% whole clusters. It feels very flowery, cherries, strawberries and just a slight nut aroma. You can savour this wine for a long time due to it's satisfying finish.

2016 Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru La Toppe au Vert The wine was a bit closed, but the potential was really there with a clear sense of flowers and an excellent finish. It was a clear winner in the game of "Is it worth carrying it back home?".

The Excellent Wines

2019 Ladoix Le Clos Royer Blanc An excellent white (Chardonnay of course). Very appealing aromas of flowers, nuts, peaches and apples with a good, long finish. 

2020 Ladoix Les Buis Aromas of Ink, strawberry. Shows how it's too early to drink and justifies the policy of releasing this in a year from now to the market. 

2019 Ladoix Les Buis Olives, cassis. A really fresh wine with a nice finish. It's an excellent early drinking wine.

2018 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Les Serpentières Opens with complex spices, cassis and has a clear mineral backbone in it. Very balanced with a long, excellent finish. 

2017 Ladoix 1er Cru La Corvée Has ink, spice and red berries. It is one of the more elegant wines we tasted here.

2017 Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru La Toppe au Vert Red plums, has immense deepness in it. Very satisfying finish

2017 Corton Grand Cru Les Renardes This wine has true elegance, smells like an amazing perfume. It's structure says very clearly: keep me for many years. 

2017 Corton Grand Cru Les Maréchaudes Red currents along with hints of leather and tobacco makes this excellent wine one that I would drink in the next 4-5 years.   

2019 Corton Grand Cru Les Renardes is a very flowery wines with cassis and strawberries. A wine to follow through its development. 

Uccelliera Rosso Di Montalcino 2013

This is a great example of why I love Italian wines. For less than $25, you get a wine that is just great. It goes really well with food, feels sophisticated and is fun to drink. Hard to beat this.

On the nose it has red berries and plums, along with spices. Feels really integrated in the mouth, balanced with the right acidity and just enough tannins to see this maturing during the next 3-5 years.

Arnaldo caprai montefalco riserva 2005

Arnaldo Caprai is a great Umbrian winery, producing both wines for immediate consumption as well as long living, upscale wines like this one. We will get to the wine in a bit, but more about the winery first: it is a beautiful building, with a glass floor that let's you look into the cellar that is directly underneath the tasting room. Very modern winery which respects it's history.
The wine: Deep color, full bodied, wild berries: raspberry, casis, spices: pepper, boke granie, slight leather, violet rich long satisfying finish smooth and very well integrated. Excellent wine: 92

Austria/Israel - white & red

This defines a great evening: warm, smart and funny friends along with excellent food accompanied by great wines from Israel and Austria. Starting with the elegant GV von den terassen 2006 from FX Pichler then Margalit Cabernet Franc 2007. Common theme: spicy elegance. Both wines showed very well and were a very good match to Mediterranean food.

FX Pichler is among the most celebrated Austrian winemakers and is definitely a great producer. The quality of this wine was a surprise for me as it's a "standard" Smargad, but proved to be among the best I've had from this winery. Aroma and mouth wise, this is a very typical Smargad (highest quality level) Wachau Gruner Veltliner (GV).

Pichler GV Smargad von den terrassen 2006
Very elegant wine, starts with white flowers blossom and tropical fruits. Then you get the spices: pepper & vanilla. Everything works together towards a rounded and smooth mouth. Long elegant finish, 95


Margalit continues to produce the best red wines (unfortunately they stopped producing whites around 2000) in Israel. I voluntarily participated in producing the wines in 2007 - that was a birthday surprise, arranged by my wife. However, the wine tasted here was put into fermentation at another day. So, no personal interest here. This is mostly Cabernet Franc, with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon wine, from the upper Galilee.

Margalit, Cabernet Franc 2007
Deep, lively color. Very elegant, with black currents, black cherries and a note of blackberries along with black and green peppers. This is a very well integrated wines, with a smooth mouth feel and light tannin. Ready for drinking, but with years ahead. Great, long finish. 92

Good, cheap Bordeaux still exists!

The sky-rocketing price of Bordeaux in recent years has left many wine-lovers with the impression that it simply isn't possible to get good, well-made Bordeaux for a reaonable price. But this simply isn't true. The perception arrises, in my mind, from a mistaken impression of what Bordeaux truly is. I'm acquainted (via the internet) with an American ex-Patriot who lives in Bordeaux, who made an very astute observation about the situation: the problem is that the American Bordeaux market equates Bordeaux with the Classified Growths, i.e., the Grand Crus. But stop and think: there are, if we include the Medoc, Pessac-Leognan, and St.-Emilion classifications, about 100 Grand Crus in Bordeaux. But there are about 5000 producers overall - it is the largest premier wine region on the planet. But the Amerian market thinks Bordeaux is supposed to some kind of block-buster, and the Grand Crus do deliver that in their youth, so that is what the market demands, and what sells. But a fine claret, as the English would say, is a beverage, not a cocktail - a sophisticated drink to accompany a fine meal. And if you still believe in traditional Bordeaux, there are still good deals to be found, no where more so than in Graves. Here's a fine, well-made, attractive, meat-friendly $11 Bordeaux I enjoyed with dinner last night. Chateau Des Proms, Cuvee Bellevue, Graves 2008 Dark ruby red. Wonderful, classic Graves nose of earthy gravel, dark fruit, and hints of flowers. On the palate, blackberry and dark cherry, attractive by not overstated, with abundant gravel and stoney earth, hints of violets, and hint of herbs/tobacco leaf on the finish, with just the right touch of oak. Medium bodied with nice aromatic accentuation, good tone, and respectable density. Very classy. Needs a little while in the glass to show its best. Approachable now with air, but should age nicely over the 5 - 10 years. Excellent value at $11. * * (2 stars) = 88 points

William Fevre Chablis 2009

Chablis is my favorite Chardonnay growing area. It produces good to great wines at a much more reasonable price than any other burgundy whites or the high end California chardonnay. Even more importantly, Chablis wines have a precise combination of richness, fine minerals and acidity that can't be found elsewhere. William Fevre is an excellent producer, this wine sets a very good example to basic Chablis, great value for money (approx. $20).

William Fevre Chablis 2009
Flowers blossom with melon, apricot a bit pears and slight butter aroma. All are integrated into a great nose. The flavor is smooth balanced with delicate acidity and minerals. Medium finish. All translates into a very good to excellent wine, Score: 90

Portteus Zinfandel

Washington state wines are in many cases my preference when it comes to US wines. But when it comes to the beloved Zin wines, California wines are usually the best. Surprise! An excellent Zinfandel from Washington. Jumps immediately to the top of the list for Zins.

Portteus Zinfandel 2008
Dark color, very Zinfandel character: bold, ripe and Masculine. Starts with ripe plums and dark cherries which are balanced by good acidity and a medium/full body. The tannins are nicely integrated in the wine and the finish is long and tasty. Excellent: 90

Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Reserva 2007

This is a wine that never disappoints. Year after year it delivers a true Tuscan character and excellent value. An enticing combination of cherries, pomegranate, spices, vanilla, just the right acidity and delicate tannins lead to an excellent finish. 90

Pelter Winery

In a hot August afternoon, we visited the Pelter winery. Being a long time admirers of their Gewürztraminer and sparkling wines we had high hopes of the visit. Well, that was easy - the hopes were exceeded. In addition to their outstanding whites, we were happy to taste the outstanding quality of the reds. One of the nice aspects of the visit was a children friendly staff and environement that enabled us to enjoy tasting wines with 3 energetic boys. So friendly that our eldest son considers this visit among the highlights of his summer vacation.

Now to the wines:

Semillon T-Selection 2009

Clearly, this is an outstanding effort. Saying that it's the best Israeli Semillon is easy. More siginificantly, it stands very well compared to some of the best Austrialian Semillon that I've tasted. It has excellent balance, shows complex fruity aromas: Guava, Apricot and lime. All lead to a long and excellent finish. Excellent / Exceptional (89 - 91) [26/8/2010]

Cabernet/Shiraz 2007

Nice wine, but not great.Cinamon, light pepper, black berries, long good finish. A bit too international. Excellent (87 - 89) [26/8/2010]

Cabernet Sauvignon T Selection 2007

This was one of the best in this tasing. A very dark colored wine and overall deep wine. Dominated by variatal aromas, especially bluberries. The finish is long and very pleasent. Tannins are still on the rough side, give it at least a year or two before openning. Outstanding (91-93) [26/8/2010]

Tasting 4 Vintages of Pontet-Canet

I started collecting wine just as the tremendous 2000 vintage was being released, and so before I even had much experience with Bordeaux, by almost pure chance, my first serious Bordeaux cellar purchase was a couple bottles of the 2000 Pontet-Canet. How exciting its been to watch the ascendance of this 5th Growth since then, and how lucky I've felt to have those bottles in the cellar, with all the talk of Pontet-Canet having become a "super-second" with the 2005 vintage, and even the lesser vintages becoming more expensive than the 2000 was on release. The story of this chateau is well-known now: its location right next to Mouton-Rothschild, and how it was considered one of the top estates in the early 19th century; its slow decline to rock-bottom during the Cruse scandal of the 1970s; and finally how the Tesseron family painstakingly revived it over two decades, preparing it for its meteoric rise that started in the mid-1990s. Given my experience with the 1970 (below), it is clear that even at its lowest ebb, there was greatness lurking here. I've had the pleasure to taste more wines from Pontet-Canet than from any other Bordeaux estate, and the style has become familiar: dense, dark, tarry, firm. Some say Pontet-Canet now resembles St.-Julien more than Pauillac, and they may be right, but what it is for certain is a great example of a modern claret that has not sold its soul like many others.

A couple weeks ago, I organized a wine dinner featuring the 1970 and the 2002 vintages of the Grand Vin, and the 2000 of Let Hauts (which in a vintage like 2000 is practically a grand vin itself):

Chateau Pontet-Canet, Pauillac 1970
Base neck fill. Medium-dark garnet; good color! Very nice old Bordeaux nose, savory, and with glycerin showing. A succulent palate, with cherry/raspberry, cassis, and a bit of tar. Medium-full bodied. Opens and grows very nicely in the glass. Still has good fruit, with nice tone and structure; one can sense the intense 1970 structure this would once have had. Near the end of its very mature prime, but can probably hold at this level for a few more years; this wine is in great shape for its age. Quite a treat, and a consummate match to Julia Child's Boeuf Bourgignon! Excellent (87 - 90). [7/9/10]

Les Hauts de Pontet-Canet, Pauillac 2000
Medium dark ruby. Nose a bit funky and not much on the palate at first, but with time in the glass, it opens beautifully. Cherry/raspberry, cassis, tar/dark fruit, lots of mineral, hints of herbs, and hints of pencil lead. Succulent. Compared to the 1970 Pontet-Canet grand vin tasted just before, this drinks like a much younger version of the same wine, and seems to confirm the similarity between the two vintages (how nice to get to compare the two). In addition, nearly equal in quality to the 2002 Pontet-Canet grand vin tasted just after. Approachable now with air, but better in 3 - 5 years, and should drink nicely until 2020 or so. 2000 shows its depth here! Excellent / Exceptional (89 - 91). [7/9/10]

Chateau Pontet-Canet, Pauillac 2002
Decanted 2 1/2 hours, and needed further time in the glass to open (nose a bit funky at first). Opaque ruby. Excellent, dense, rich nose. Cherry, blackberry, cassis, tarry/leathery notes, a hint of roasted herb/tobacco, and a hint of pencil lead/mineral. Full bodied, ripe, and dense, with good tone. Needs time, perhaps another 5 years, and shouldlast last until 2020 - 2025. Quite an impressive performance from this maligned vintage, and for under $40, a very impressive value as well. Exceptional (90 - 93). [7/9/10]

And as chance would have it, I had also had the opportunity to taste the 2003 in May:

Chateau Pontet-Canet, Pauillac 2003
Decanted for over an hour. Dark, warm ruby; impressive color. Great nose!!! Black cherry, blackberry, juicy red currant, cassis, some floral notes, and a touch of citrus, with tobacco, a hint of pencil lead, mineral, roasted herbs, roasted meat, and espresso. Ripe, but not overly so, and there is a LOT of tannin hiding underneath. Has 2003 warmth, but with the tannin, density, and acidity to balance it. This is a wine you need to swirl in your mouth to perceive how well constituted it is under the ripe fruit. Approachable now and very pleasurable to drink, but will only get better, and I dare say it will achieve a more classical Bordeaux balance in its maturity. Has up to 20 years ahead of it; when will it hit its peak? Not sure - perhaps in 10 years. A lot of potential here. Extraordinary (93 - 95). [5/13/10]

Chateau Talbot, St. Julien 2001

This wine helped in resolving a long standing family dispute over wine. For years, my wife claimed that Bordeaux can't meet the standards of our favorite wine region: Piedmont. Knowing her taste, the main point was around how Masculine are the wines (or the more feminine/elegant nature of a lot of Bordeaux wines that we had). Comes Talbot 2001 to show that the combination of masculine and elegant wines is not unique to Piedmont or Italy in general.

Chateau Talbot, St. Julien 2001
Started with excellent fruit: blueberries, black current later reveled earth and minerals with just a good hint of green notes. Masculine wine with an excellent elegant finish. Excellent / Exceptional (89 - 91)

First experience with an unusual grape: St. Laurent

The red grapes of the central European countries, are an unusual lot, with combinations of flavors that most find at least perplexing, and some find off-putting. I for the most part have enjoyed my occasional meeting with such varieties as Blaufrankish and Zweigelt. Last night, I had for the first time a grape that to my palate is the most unusual of them: a St. Laurent, from Austria. It happens that Zweigelt is actually a cross of Blaufrankish and St. Laurent, so I've now met the "whole family." In short, a positive experience and an excellent wine. I'll be happy to have St. Laurent cross my path again, though I confess I might not seek it out.



Zantho, St. Laurent, Burgenland 2006 (Austria)
My first experience with this grape. Dark ruby. A rather stinky nose, but with some excellent components, notably showing the same wet gravel and tobacco notes that one finds in Haut-Brion, with dark fruit, a faint whiff of flowers (roses perhaps?), and a very prominent note of lemon. On the palate, cherry, dominate notes of tart lemon/citrus, dark, tarry plum, a faint hint of flowers, then very earthy wet gravel and tobacco notes. Medium-full bodied. The combination of prominent lemon acidity with a generous earthy character pushes the limits of conventional balance, but there is good quality and character in this wine, with excellent aromatic components. On the balance I like it quite a bit, and in its best moments I would give it an Exceptional (90 - 93) rating, but one does have to make some allowances, and meet it on its own terms. Drink now. Excellent / Exceptional (89 - 91). [6/9/10]

Morellino di Scansano

Hoping now to start anew with more frequent posting, I return to that region with the red wines that most closely hold my heart: Tuscany. But on this occasion a somewhat unusual Tuscan: Fattoria Le Pupille, Morellino di Scansano 2004. Some background: Morellino di Scansano, recently upgraded to DOCG in 2007, is found in Maremma on the Tuscan coast. Morellino is the local name for Sangiovese, and with Brunello/Rosso di Montalcino, it is one of only two Tuscan wines required to be composed of 100% Sangiovese. I don't have a lot of experience with Morellino, but my limited sample suggests two distinctive characteristics: a ripe style of fruit, and very prominment earthiness. What's unusal about this particular wine is that, while having some distinct Tuscan characteristics if you had given it to me blind, I might very well have guessed it was from the Languedoc!

Fattoria Le Pupille, Morellino di Scansano 2004
Pure, juicy black cherry uprfront, with plum, hints of citrus rind and tomato, and prominent baryard-style earthiness, with herbs on the finish, the whole also having a pleasant "sea air" salty quality. Medium-full bodied with a ripe style of fruit (but not overly ripe), and a sharp style of acidity (but not unpleasant). White the citrus rind, tomato, and herbs mark it as Tuscan, the overall style of the fruit and the baryard remind me as much of Minervois in the Languedoc as they do of Tuscany, or within Italy, perhaps of Salento in Puglia. Whatever the case, this is quite a nice wine, perhaps now at its mature zenith, and should be drunk now or in the next two years. Excellent (87 -90) [5/8/10]

Surprising Gatinara - 1997

Travaglini, Gatinara Tre Vigni 1997
A pleasent surprise from the mostly unknown Gatinara DOCG in Piedmont, Italy. Reading the reviews, I was afraid that this wine might not be a perfect choice for celebrating our 13th anniversary. But, this wine proved (again) that reviewers might be wrong. It was an excellent Nebbiolo expression: Opening with red berries, light earthy notes and a silky long ending, it developed in the glass to have leather, mushroom, more black fruits and great acidity. It is at its peak. Excellent / Exceptional (89 - 91)

Wines of Arizona

In July I found myself in Tucson with a few extra days on my hands, so naturally, the first thing I did was to find out how close the wineries were. Arizona has one AVA, Sonoita, which is located about an hour southeast of Tucson. The elevation slowly climbs in that direction, so that wine country is at about 4000 ft., and much cooler than Tucson. Scenic drive too. Clustered around the small town of Elgin are about 9 wineries, 3 of which were open on the Thursday I went there. The wineries charge a reasonable fee, $3 - 5, for tastings, but that includes the glass, and once you have a glass from one of the wineries, the cost for tasting at the others is discounted to $1 - 3. The wine industry is about 30 years old. Specialties, not surprisingly, are grapes from the hotter European climates. The potential of this region is massive, the wines reminding strongly of Tuscany, and the Sangiovese a ringer for Montalcino. And the capability (not just potential) for producing structured, long lived wines is there. This region deserves a reputation greater than Texas, but I suspect there just aren't enough wineries for it to ever come to prominence. If wine lovers find themselves in the Tucson area, make this your number one destination.

Kief-Joshua Vineyards
My first stop simply because it was the first winery I came to that was open. Because their vines haven't come to full maturity yet, they are currently getting their fruit from California. But clearly there is a good winemaker here, and a distinctive house style that will serve their Arizona fruit very well. Good future here, I think. Very nice tasting room.

Kief-Joshua Vineyards, Chenin Blanc, California 2007
Citrus, nectarine, grassy/herbal notes toward the finish. Pleasantly tart, with good body. 13.5% abv. Very Good / Excellent (86 - 88). [7/16/09]

Kief-Joshua Vineyards, Viognier, California 2007
Floral notes, citrus, tropical fruits. Nice aromatics. Lightish in body, and hides its alcohol (14.5% abv) well. Very Good / Excellent (86 - 88). [7/16/09]

Kief-Joshua Vineyards, Cabernet Franc, California 2005
Nice, clear, medium ruby. Excellent nose of savory red fruits and cedar. On the palate, tart cherry, currants, plum, perhaps a note of roses, and gentle cedar on the finish. Somewhat light in body. Should be very food friendly. Very Good / Excellent (86 - 88). [7/16/09]

Kief-Joshua Vineyards, Syrah, California 2005
Nearly opaque ruby/purple. Raspberry, plum, earth, spice. Nice finish. Medium-full bodied. Very Good / Excellent (86 - 88). [7/16/09]

Kief-Joshua Vineyards, Nebbiolo-Sangiovese-Tempranillo, California 2005
Nose of savory red fruits and a hint of forest floor. On the palate, tart, slightly savory red fruit. The fruit is very low-key. Lingering earthiness and french oak notes. Drink now or in the next 2 years. Very Good (85 - 87). [7/16/09]

Kief-Joshua Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendocino 2003
Medium, opaque ruby/garnet. Funky nose. Cherry, savory blackberry, spice, and oak. Needs plenty of breathing. Drink now or in the next 3 yrs. Very Good / Excellent (86 - 88). [7/16/09]

Village of Elgin Winery
A prolific winery, offering ~40 wines (perhaps more) under at least two different labels. Eclectic style here, with unusual blends and winemaking methods. Definitely a sense of humor and adventure here. Very competent winemaking, the wines quite at ease with their seeming lack of "conventional polish." Fun wines to taste.

Village of Elgin Winery, Sangiovese, Sonoita [AVA] 2006
Medium ruby/garnet. Nice nose of cherry, smoke, and a hint of orange rind. Savory palate, with cherry, strawberry, plum, orange rind, smoke, herbs, and spice. Good acidity and body. Very good effort. Very Good / Excellent (86 - 88). [7/16/09]

Village of Elgin Winery, Old World Cuvee, Sonoita [AVA] NV
Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in chesnut. Pure, medium ruby. Nose of cherry blackberry, and chesnut. On the palate, cherry, blackberry, and very prominent chesnut, with smoke, orange rind, and nutmeg. Nice but gentle grip to the acid and tannin. Good effort. Very Good / Excellent (86 - 88). [7/16/09]

The story on aging in chesnut is that the winemaker discovered in researching historical winemaking that chesnut was supposedly the first wood used for wine barrels.

Village of Elgin Winery, Barbera, Sonoita [AVA] 2006
Light garnet. Very pleasant nosee of sweet red fruit, a touch of smoke, and oragne rind. Sweet cherry on the palate, with savory herbs, and hints of smoke and orange rind. Chalky tannis. Very Good (85 - 87). [7/16/09]

Village of Elgin Winery, Bella, Sonoita [AVA] NV
Moscato and Colombard. Light, clean, sparkly silver-yellow. Orange, peach, melon, and a barest hint of sweet nettle. Off-dry. Pleasant picnic wine. Very Good (85 - 87). [7/16/09]

Village of Elgin Winery, Vino della Primavera, Sonoita[AVA] NV
A blend of six different grapes. Cherry, banana, nectarine, leather, and sweet greeness. Good acid and body. Strange, but suprisingly good. Excellent (87 - 90). [7/16/09].

Sonoita Winery
The oldest winery in the state. Potentially world-class wines, confident winemaking, and a very high standard of quality. Apparently started as an agricultural experiment, the founder having researched the location, climate, etc., and determined that it was ideal for winemaking. Their flagship wine is their Pinot Noir, which was unfortunately not available for tasting, but I can only imagine that it would be a very excellent wine. In addition, here is a winery that could make long lived wines, as evidenced by the available library releases of their Cab. Sauv., including the 1984, a wine they say is drinking quite well. They deserve some respect and attention!

Sonoita Winery, Colombard, Cochise County, Arizona NV
Light golden. Bright citrus, green apple, and melon. Refreshing but rich, with great body. Excellent (87 - 90). [7/16/09]

Sonoita Winery, Sonoita Fume, Sonoita [AVA] NV
Prominent smoke and flint on the nose. Citrus and green apple on the palate, with good focus, mouth-puckering acidity, and lots of flinty mineral. Good body. Excellent (87 - 90). [7/16/09]

Sonoita Winery, Sonora Rossa, Sonoita [AVA] NV
Merlot, Cab. Sauv., and Colombard. Dark salmon/ruby. Nice, aromatic nose. Cherry and blackberry, with Colombard's citrus and apple on the rear palate. Very interesting. Very Good (85 - 87). [7/16/09]

Sonoita Winery, Sangiovese, Sonoita [AVA] 2007
Medium ruby/garnet. Cherry, black raspberry, a touch of strawberry, hints of savory herbs, and orange rind, with oak giving it great body. Almost like a Rosso di Montalcino. Sangiovese like this could put Arizona on the map. Should drink well for another 5 years, perhaps longer. Excellent (87 - 90). [7/16/09]

Sonoita Winery, MeCaSah, Sonoita [AVA] 2006
Merlot, Cab. Sauv., and Syrah. Medium garnet. Good nose. Cherry, blackberry, and currant. Toward the finish, a good, savory quality, with a hint of orange rind. Relatively closed at this stage. A wine of good quality. Having tasted this, one can certainly see how in a good year, their wines could age very well (they reported that their library release 1984 Cabernet Sauvignon is drinking nicely). Will improve over the next 5 - 10 years. Excellent (87 - 90). [7/16/09]

Sonoita Winery, Desert Zin, Arizona 2008
I'd always heard that Zinfandel could produce a port-style wine from natural sugar content, and yea verily, here is one, with 16.5% abv, and 6% RS. Deep ruby towards black. Concentrated black cherry and black raspberry, a savory touch, orange rind, and tabacco. Very intense - has some punch to it! Great stuff. Excellent (87 - 90). [7/16/09]

Sonoita Winery, Arizona Sparkles, Brut, Sonoita [AVA] NV
Colombard and Muscat. Citrus, apple, and melon; like their still Colombard, with the addition of bubbles. Not quite as good though, its balance a bit lacking. Very Good (85 - 87). [7/16/09]

Uccelliera

Back after a long year without a single blog. That's a direct result of starting to work for Microsoft - a wonderful, exciting and challenging experience, but no time for wine blogging. Comes our vacation to Umbria, Italy and there is a bit time to blog.

Taking the advantage of Tuscany's proximity to Umbria, we headed towards Montalcino. Uccelliera is not a big producer (20,000 bottles per year) and that's exactly why it was chosen. The bigger Brunello houses are geared to cater to the international wine drinker and this shows in the wine. Uccelliera is positivly unique. These are wines with personality.

Uccelliera has very modern wine production equipment and still experiments in creating the best Brunello. They age the Brunello half in new oak and half in big Slovanian barrels. The later provides the more delicate aromas that are associated with "old" world. We drank the same vintages (2006, 2007) from both methods and the difference is clear: the wines from the big barrels is more delicate, with less tannins but less pronounced fruit. The small barrels result with more spice and bigger fruit. The combination is irrisitable. These Brunellos are 1st class, among the best I've tasted.

We had an Uccelliera Rosso di Montalcino 2006 with dinner a couple of days later, which was excellent. Food friendly wine, just the right cmbination of sweet red fruit, black fruit, spice and oak along with the right acidity. Excellent / Exceptional (89 - 91)

Soon to return, with Texas, Colorado, and Arizona!

Hello Folks! Been very busy the past 6 months and just haven't found the time for writing up a lot of tasting notes, but will return in the near future with notes from three unlikely Southwestern wine growing states: Texas, Colorado, and Arizona. Stayed tuned!

A mostly Cabernet tasting

I have a favorite wine shop in Wichita (KS), Anton's Vintage Wine & Spirits (highly recommended), and the owner has become a friend over the past few years. But we had never had the chance to taste wines together. So, we got together the day after Christmas. He was interested in tasting an Israeli Cab, so I brought one, and he provided some other Cabernet based wines. He enjoyed the Israeli, and the wines he provided were quite a treat!

Galil Mountain, Cabernet Sauvignon, Galilee 2003
Medium ruby toward garnet. Love the nose - sweet, and very aromatic, with raspberry, marmalade, and roses - not quite heady, but rich. On the palate, sweet cherry upfront with overtones of cassis, followed by a midpalate of sweet raspberry, orange rind, and roses. Finish drops off, however. Medium bodied, with nice aromatics. Fills the senses (even with the short finish). Seems to be holding nicely - for drinking soon, but without fear. Lovely wine. Kosher. Excellent (87 - 90). [12/26/08].

Chateau La Louviere, Pessac-Leognan 2005
Nice color - deep ruby with a touch of purple. Awesome nose of earth, black fruit, and tobacco - but subtle and reserved at this stage, and not as good as it will be in time! Similar notes on the palate, but very tight at this stage. Full bodied. Very impressive - a great wine. I'd give it 10 more years, and I'll guess it will last for 10 - 20 years after that. Should be something really special in time. Love it! Exceptional (90 - 93), and potentially Extraordinary (93 - 95) with time. [12/26/08]

Paul Hobbs, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2005
Last glass from a bottle opened the day before, but kept under inert gas. Nice color - deep ruby with a touch of purple. Big, rich, heady, Napa nose of cassis, earth, and tobacco. On the palate, cherry, cassis, tobacco, and earth. Big but not huge. Great fruit! Not a wine to evaluate, but one to sit back and enjoy. Should last another 10 - 15 years. Can't decided whether this or the Beringer Private Reserve 1997 tasted after it is the best California Cabernet I've had, although they are in very different styles. Extraordinary (93 - 95). [12/26/08]

Beringer, Cabernet Sauvignon, Private Reserve, Napa Valley 1997
Impressive color - deep, youthful ruby, going to pink with a touch of brown at the edge (but notably, no garnet). Funky, candied nose at first, but after that blows off, red and black currants, with Graves-like earthiness, a hint of tobacco, and a touch of espresso - a great nose! On the palate, cherry, red currant, cassis, raspberry, orange rind, and espresso. Touch of earthiness on the finish. Full bodied, with good balance. Somewhat Bordelais in style. A very high quality wine. In its prime, and should hold there for another 5 years, but probably won't improve any further. This would be the best California Cabernet I've had if not for the Paul Hobbs Napa 2005 tasted just before it - can't really decided between the two, although I'd say the this one has the edge, although in a very different style. Extraordinary (93 - 95). [12/26/08]

Pinot Noir Around the World

I organized a Pinot Noir tasting at my place, which took place on Nov 21 (two weeks ago today). I had always wanted to do something like this, and for me the main interest was to put some New World PNs head-to-head with red Burgs, so as to answer the eternal questions: (1) are red Burgs any better than New World PNs, and (2) do New World PNs actually taste like PN? I also had always wanted to put Nuits against Beaune, Oregon against California, and hot climate against cool climate. In short, the overall quality was high, we all learned a lot, and there were a number of [mostly pleasant] surprises. All wines were served immediately after opening.

First the notes, then some reflections.

Flight 1. The Classics: Europe

Joseph Drouhin, Chorey-Les-Beaune 2006
Light ruby. Lovely, aromatic nose that practically fills the room. Cherry and a touch of dark raspberry on the palate, the fruit having the lovely, vibrant, accentuated style that is typically associated with the Cote-de-Beaune. Nice finish and body. Should last another 5 years or so. At around $20, the best value in red Burgundy I've had. Excellent (87 - 90).

Nicolas Potel, Cote de Nuits-Villages, Vieilles Vignes 2006
A somewhat darker ruby (compared to the Chorey-Les-Beaune tasted before it), but still clear. Nice nose of leather. On the palate, cherry, blackberry, leather, and spice. Does have a touch of the meatiness that is associated with the Cote-de-Nuits. Not all that impressive at first but gets better and better as it opens. Too young, I think - needs another 5 years, and should last for 10, but when it hits its prime it should be something special, and I imagine it will justify its almost $40 price tag as well. Decanting or breathing for an hour might do the trick as well. Excellent (87 - 90), and potentially Exceptional (90 - 93) with time.

August Ziegler, Pinot Noir Spatlese (trocken), Cuvee August, Pfalz 2005
Dark ruby, with a touch of purple. Nice nose. Cherry and mixed berries on the palate. Nice acidity, and the high alcohol (14%) gives it richness without making it unbalanced. Tastes like its seen a moderate amount of oak, which doesn't seem necessary. A ripe, attractive style that is very pleasing initially, but doesn't have any underpinnings to contrast, and so may just have a bit too much fruit for its own good. Still, an excellent and well-made wine, but not quite my style. Should last another 5 years. About $20, which is a fair price. Excellent (87 - 90).

Flight 2. The Challengers: United States

Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Noir, "Whole Cluster Fermented," Willamette Valley 2007
Ruby / purple. Sweet strawberry, cherry, and a touch of blueberry. Attractive, accentuated fruit, and in some ways very similar to the Chorey-Les-Beaune tasted earlier in the evening. Classic Oregon PN. Very nice. Drink in the next 3 - 5 years, I think. Around $15, and a good value. Excellent (87 - 90).

Angeline, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley 2006
Ruby / purple. Cherry, and rich blackberry. Wonderful, pure fruit. Californian in style but still has the finesse and grace that PN should have. Very, very nice. The best California PN I've had, and at a mere $15 a bottle, the best value in Pinot Noir I've encountered. Drink in the 4 - 6 years. Excellent / Exceptional (89 - 91).

Crescendo, Pinot Noir, Napa Valley 2005
Deep garnet. Nice nose. Black cherry, liqueur-like blackberry, and a touch of blueberry, with nice vegetal/wood/tea undertones. Great body. For me, a big surprise, as I didn't expect a PN from such a hot climate to taste like PN, or even work as a wine - yet this is a reasonably faithful PN in style, and yet also very distinctly Napa. Should last another 5 - 7 years. I'm not completely certain, but I think this is around $15, which makes it a great value (although the comparable Russian River Valley PN tasted before it is just a touch better). Wonderful stuff. Excellent / Exceptional (89 - 91).

Flight 3. The Up-and-Coming: Southern Hemisphere

Kim Crawford, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2007
Dark ruby / purple. Lovely nose of red berries (with a note cranberry in particular) and earth (although the nose is a little unusual, perhaps even a bit funky, initially). On the palate, cranberry, cherry, strawberry, and a touch of darker fruits, with nice touch of black tea and vegetal tones. Cool, pure, juicy fruit - practically screams Marlborough. Just a bit earthy (in the most pleasant of ways), and with great body. The best Pinot Noir I've had (a mild but most pleasant surprise). Should last another 4 - 6 years. Just under $20, and a tremendous value. Exceptional (90 - 93).

Matetic, Equilibrio, Pinot Noir, San Antonio 2005 (Chile)
My first Chilean PN. Light, reddish purple. Nice but a bit funky nose that reminds one, oddly enough, of buttered popcorn. On the palate, cranberry, cherry, and dark fruits, with great warmth and spice. Very ripe. Nice, but a blockbuster sort of wine, and a bit too much for me. Has a touch of the soft red fruits of PN, but otherwise behaves like a lighter-bodied Cabernet. As a friend put it "Everything this does, a Chilean Cab does better." Drink in the next 3 - 5 years. A very excellent wine, but to my palate, not a very good PN. Not unreasonably priced at around $25. Exceptional (90 - 93), but not my style.


Now my reflections: 1. It is nice (or perhaps I just got lucky) to have a pair a red Burgs that demonstrate the differences between Cote de Beaune and Cotes de Nuits. I must confess, although I was still very pleased, that perhaps I was expecting the Burgs to be a bit more impressive - on the whole they were blown out of the water by the New Worlds, although stylistically I preferred them to most of the New Worlds. 2. Although I haven't had very many, I'm beginning to think that maybe I don't care for German Pinot (aka Spatburgunder) - they have an attractive style, but no real underpinnings (no earth, vegetal tones, spice, etc), to lend them contrast and interest. 3. I've been in the habit of saying that Oregon tastes more like Burgundy, but it's nice to have that confirmed in a head-to-head (although, once again, maybe I got lucky on the selection). Based on this and the other Oregons I've had, it seems maybe that they lean specifically toward the Beaun-ish side. 4. I was impressed and surprised by the Calis - I've been complaining for years that Cali Pinot often doesn't taste like Pinot, but these two overturned that conception, and more or less killed the Burgs for quality. As I noted above, the Napa Pinot was a big surprise. 5. As much as I love Marlborough, the fact that it has produced the best PN I've tasted was a unlooked-for but delightful surprise. And, as I've noted in the past, you can sense in Marlborough PN the same, cool, juicy, pure fruit as in the Sauv Blancs. 6. I had heard very promising things about Chilean PN, but now I question that, because if this was a typical example, then I'm not all that interested in tasting any others. One would think that high-altitude and thus cooler conditions would produce more balanced, more graceful PN.