Search Results



The President is a MO….!!!!

Did Mel Brooks script the current administration? Could that be Larry David on a horse? You may not approve of the President but you gotz to admit…he sure inspires the absurd.

The Thanksgiving Classic – you know the World Series – is over. I would tell you hearts are broken all over LA…but that would be a lie. Folks in SoCal fuggedaboudsheeat faster than a Hollywood mogul pops…CENSORED… [ooo..he did not write that].

Let’s review a wine.

Yohan Lardy 2015 Beaujolais-Villages Blanc Les Bruyeres $20. Yummmeee. Not exactly citric but with good acid. Flavors are chard-ish. Mostly the wine is fresh and a great sipper with food. Contributed by Le Large. This is the remarkable piece. This is chardonnay from the land south of southern-most Burgundy: Beaujolais. Where they grow Gamay. when did they start growing chardonnay [KrisB will know]? Beaujolais is about to release its Beaujolias Nouveau which is a marketing ploy cooked up 20 or 30 years ago to prop up a failing market. Think of Beauj Nouv as raw fermented grape juice. Even high falootin trade types (Kermit Lynch) say they love it. Try it and see. It comes round in next couple weeks then it will be gone. Wonder if Costco will carry some? Beaujolais has a sordid history. It wasn’t enough to push awful juice. Certain vignerons mixed in other less-than-fresh juice. tBoW described the decades old sordid history in an earlier entry. Since that epoch of fraud, vintage Beaujolais became serious wine. We always have something in the cellar such as Clos de la Roilette 2009.

WHAT IF BASEBALL FIELD REPORTERS COVERED A WINE TASTING?
tBoW: We are tasting in LA today at the World Serious Wine Event near the ballpark in Silverlake. Our field reporters are Buck Moose and Vine Skully.
Moose: What are your thoughts on this tasting? Do you want it to be the best tasting ever? Tell us what you’re thinking? Are you anxious the tasting may be able to score enough points to be ready for the next LA series?
Winemaker: Sure. We want the best…
Viney: This wine tasting is a lot like the great beer tasting when the Babe called his shot…of Porter. There used to be a wine named Porter that could be drunk with either hand. Much like the Babe was often… After the game of course. Is tonight’s game over yet?
Winemaker: wha…?
Moose: What are your thoughts on Viney? Do you want him to be the greatest announcer of all time? Or just the greatest of all time? Tell us your thoughts on Viney as the greatest announcer of all time?
Winemaker: Well, to tell the truth we just want to pour our best for all the great fans that came to Silverlake today.

Make the safe bet like the Large has learned. Buy the importer – e.g., Louis Dressner and Kermit Lynch; and the region: Alto Piemonte and Southern Burgundy. And count on Verlander.

The Fall, Rise and Fall of Beaujolais

she ruled the 60s

she ruled the 60s

Beaujolais has been forgotten more often than whatshisname. Beauj wines were top shelf in the 14th century until the Burgundy farmers chased the Gamay Noir grape – crossed with the blessed Pinot Noir – and its wannabe producers south. Gamay lost its prestige in the wake of Marie Antoinette’s gehackt kopf.

Gamay grown south of Burgundy can produce a lovely light to medium weight red wine with floral qualities and the requisite acid to buck it all up. Until the 1960s. Yearning for fanfare the Beaujolais producers led by Georges Dubouef came up with Beaujolais Nouveau which became fashionable as Twiggy. And half as interesting. This pompy silly era was Fall #1 for Beaujolais in the Modern Era: Beaj Nouveau. Like the Beatles, still popular.

The Rise. In 2006 the earth around Beaujolais began to move. Suddenly, gratefully, amidst an avalanche of rocketing collector prices and the relentless quest to win a Parker 100 point score, Beaujolais winemakers began producing some very nice wines. The value quotient (VQ) was an island in a sea of [ed. better metaphor please] an outpost in a wilderness of [ed. not wilderness] an outpost in the back country of forgotten appellations. Gamay returned to wine snobs. The 2006, 2007 and 2008 vintages were superb. The ten crus offered more variety than Bourdeaux along with far better pricing and far more availability. Superb Gamay cru wines were priced near $15. Beaujolais was on the RISE.

Fall #2. The 2008 economic crash took about 18 months for Parker and the Wine Speculator to concede the 100 point game was over. Tostado. This should have been the tipping point when Beaujolais secured its new position as leader in the quality and value game. But it did not. Instead, the producers raised prices. Dumb. Da Dumb. Dumb. The market was in their hands… and they let it slip away. The last vintages we bought were 2009 2010. We are tasting through them now with no plans to replenish.

Very good Beaujolais costs close to $30. At the same time we are buying outrageously great Chablis for the same price. And super Red Burg for the same price and up to $10 more… except we are buying wines Beaujolais will never become, except for Clos de la Roilette which we still buy. Welcome to the new top shelf.

Here are two more wines from the Not Ready For Prime Time Tasting.

Ridge-Montebello-00WEB2000 Ridge Montebello $120: A-L-M-O-S-T R-E-A-D-Y. At 14 years this wine can be enjoyed. Ridge Montebello is regarded as the Lafite of US wines. Justifiably so. This wine was gorgeous, not voluptious, not lean. Classically beautiful, something like Lauren Bacall. Perfect California mountain blend with just enough oak to give it the classic style. Last domestic Cabernet we had like this was the 1987 Dunn Howell in mag. Dunn is more rustic. Montebello more refined. Truly spectacular wine and not Bordeaux. Honestly. At $120 and being the benchmark for California GREATNESS in wine, this is a bargain. 13.5%

Tondonia-91WEB1991 Lopez de Herredia Tondonia $105 (sorry, it’s a secret for now): tBoW asked Goldun will this wine be ready in another 10 years? “Maybe 100” came the comeback. 23 years in the bottle and the color is not even golden. Yellow as a five year old Chablis. Flavors enchanting but the wine is n-o-t r-e-a-d-y. We must have another bottle taking into account predicted auto-longevity and the likelihood I will be around to enjoy with the Geezer Troop. 13%

Maybe this could also be “the discrete charm of the Beaujolais?” Cue the electric sitars please. It’s all… so beautiful.

Reclassifying De-classified Wines

declassified-logoWEBDe-classified wines. Like outlaws they exist outside the mainstream. Wines which others have attempted to place on the margins of the inner sect. Untouchables. The lowest caste. The underclass. Warlocks to the Eloi. They are among a wine snob’s favorite topic. Wines banished from the world of civilized wine snobbery. (more…)

Eat Something! It’s Thanksgiving.

Santa Anita Staff waiting to serve you.

Gather your bottles of wine, your trays of scalloped green beans, and the all-grown-up cousins. Turkey Day is upon us. Let’s all be together cracking jokes, talking about old times, and checking out the young ‘uns and their “sig Os.” Tell stories, think about those who are no longer here. As Grandma used to say, “eat something!” As we like to say “Drink Something!” Everyone have a great time. (more…)

Fall’s First Vinous Treats and LA’s BEST Local Wine/Food Event

chefs chillin after werkin

The Los Angeles Magazine Wine and Food Event was held this past Sunday October 23 at the Semler Ranch. 100% first class show worth every dollar of 100 to get in. We shall be reporting back in bite size tastes and half spittable half sippable drinks over the next several weeks. Look for interviews with new and familiar winemakers in the Santa Rita Hills. We are also anticipating the holiday season. In the spirit of re-gifting we therefore are cleaning out the cellar along with last season’s “lost” wine notes for recycling purposes for our readers. After, all, we are at te end of the pre-holidays window of relative peace and ordinary life before the 10 week-long fiasco takes hold of our mass consciousness and we are bombarded with jingles and endless last minute sales with the lowest prices of the year. Here is what we came up with for your pre-holiday pleasure.

2007 Durant Dundee Hills La Casita Pinot Noir $20: Quite sweet for this vintage and region. Could be mistaken for Santa Rita Hills. The 2007 vintage in Willamette is typically more lean and even elegant in a severe Heidi Klum way. “One of you will remain and one of you…will be dismissed.” Jawohl!

coming to your shop soon!

2009 Anne Gros Bourgogne AND Hauts Cotes des Nuits $33: Just released and already impossible to find. Same price for either wine. When you wait for a wine this good this long it cannot possibly fulfill the expectation. But it does. Much tannin without being lean. Somewhat muscular in a youthful style. Fruit in reserve. Cannot wait to taste again but next time with a Vinturi – the aerator. Ages faster than smoking three packs a day. Steve Goldun says they are equally delicious. Only tasted the Bourgogne which was just fine.

2009 Clos de la Roilette $26: This bottle keeps tasting better with time. Reviewed most recently here Great balance of generous fruit with enough stuffing to keep it all firm and gripping. Nothing flashy. Just very nicely made Cru declassified Fleurie Beaujolais. Gotta love it. Beaujolais IS the longest standing bargain. This wine is in the top 5 from the very good 2009 vintage.

2009 Domaine Alain Michaud Brouilly $23: Add this one to the list of superb 2009 Beaujolais cru wines. Had not tasted this one until very recently. Extra bonus – Paul Wasserman pouring! Creamy smooth like a 1950s puro. Quite delicious. Shall hunt down and bag a few. Believe it will still be within reach.

1989 Chateau Soucherie Chaume
$33: Creamy, chalky, Double lovely. Like pears and heavy cream. Golden color. At 23 years still drinking young. This is a Chenin Blanc from the Loire. These are another group of less fashionable wines that deserve your attention. You will not be disappointed. Can take 20 years easily. This is how to buy a wine with age and open it tonight. Pricing is bargain city. Go find and buy then drink. Dessert wine without the candy. 12.5%

Holidays are coming. Good time to share wines with loved ones. We can also help with top of the line plonk advice and how to handle re-gifting!