Is It Spring Yet?
Izit Spring Yet? tBoW Finds a Secret Wine Shop with a Delicioso Red Burg!
What a long and wintry Spring it has been. Long. And Winterrrryyyyy. Normally tBoW would hunker down in his wine cellar with a screwpull and a couple of goblets. Or even better invite over some pals [ed. The Large? Mr Story? Dotoré? the Glass Jar??] and pull corks together.
But not this Winter/Spring. Everyone is rained out or washed away or buried under an avalanche. Dark times? Perhaps. Can this be remedied? Certainly. tBoW is already planning his sunny wine tasting [ed. aka The Tasting Story or a Storied Tasting] for some time in April or May; soon as the temp tops 80⁰ during sunlight and stays above 70⁰ after the sun goes down while the jazz is still playing.
Mrs. tBoW will make appetizers. Veggies will get grilled. And at some point fish and meat will hit the refurbished BBQ.
BUTTTTT…What will be on the tasting list? This is where the balance must be delicately struck.
Mr. Story is a wine tasting novice. He certainly is fond of THE grape and THE cheese. He welcomes a gentle hand to guide him in the ways of value. Mr. Story loves value as do all tBoW tasters. He shuns costly items in general. His nose is already developed for sniffing out the hyped-up cybersecurity patch. Now he must learn the ways of detecting hyped-up wines. tBoW tries to make that decision tree very simple. NO WINES OVER $20! [ed. Note the Large came up with the U20 and the U10 designation – wines under $20 and $10. Such is value!]
Of course, this rally cry must be adjusted for inflation. And the exceptional find. [ed> please continue]
The mission was to golf three times in three days. And play some poker at the local Native Peoples casinos. In between those activities we had hours to fill so we went to the Desert Wine Shop in Palm Desert on Highway 111 (can be a fun ride from downtown Palm Springs thru an endless rush of towns east all the way to La Quinta).
Desert Wine is exactly the kind of wine shop we love. Hole-in-the-wall stacked with cases that allow just enough room to walk and p-e-r-u-s-e. And bingo. We had a strike like a native rainbow down the Truckee River on the road to Reno!
2016 Domaine Gachot Monot Cotes De Nuits Village $35. Yes. It is a VALUE Burgundy. Imported by Kermit Lynch. Always consider the importer when gauging the pedigree. Kermit is always at or near the top of importers worth recalling. How good was this wine? Good enough I had to keep it away from host IGTY. Lush but not full. Swoozy but not zaftig. Balanced like Cardi B on a unicycle. Cherry side of flavors. Perfect weight. Tannins? Guess I missed that call. Just about perfect. So delicious tBoW could not recall his last red Burgundy this good [ed. tBoW has given up on white Burgs LINK]. How could I pay $35 for wine if it out of bounds on the price/value ratio? I called the shop Friday so I could grab what was left in the store – one bottle – on the way out of town. Find it and buy a case. Split it with me. Now I have to check in Kermit’s newsletter to see if he ever listed this luscious drink.
Willamette Valley VIneyards Pinot Noir Whole Cluster $20 (good as a U20). You will never read about hints in tBoW. As refreshing as liquid fruit salad in a glass, this wine is ruby in color and opens with lively aromas of ripe cherry, blackberry and cocoa with a hint of earthiness. IGTY served this as his GO-TO pinot. Actually quite delicious! And at this price point a real steal; three vineyards covering ~1500 acres; been going since 1970s. Read about them here.
Back to the desert…..Ring-a-ding-ding!!