Posts belonging to Category Dundee Hills

Touting a Garagiste – aka “G.” – purchase is always dicey. Like nostalgia, praising a great G. buy only works in retrospect. Rimmerman’s selections almost always sell out so there is no going back and buying in. You have to be there when it all goes down. There are other pitfalls when mainlining G. which Dotoré will insist we mention [ed. and we have in an earlier G. post] such as Rimmerman’s twist on the “availability principle,” as in “it’s not a question of price but availability.” With G. you have to strike early and decisively since it is apparent G. buys “on the come.” When you check your warehouse chart you will find many “pre-arrival” notes next to the wine for which you so willingly even anxiously..yes thrillingly!!…pulled the trigger! (more…)

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!

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!

If you like stories of dreamers who realize their dreams and more…well, read on.tBoW interviewed four terrific winemakers in early Summer 2011: Doug Margerum, Maggie Harrison, Jessica Mozeico and the Semler clan. Each is a bona fide innovator who pursued a dream until it became a reality. The ready-for-prime-time versions are in Elegant Living Magazine online. We present these winemakers here for those of you who have abandoned or never got to know the print medium. (more…)

U20s abound. We are proud to point out thebestofwines saw the trophy-wine-bubble bursting urrlllyy on. Way ahead of the trend…a trend not set as deep, perhaps, as current real estate prices. When will our multi-million dollar homes and those fat home equity credit lines come back? Only when $350 Napa Cabernets become hard to acquire. Right now they are simply hard to find. Try China [ed. “wine angels” are supposedly the hot ticket in Beijing and Shanghai]. In the meantime the thoughtful oenophile can sample from a slew of retailers’ bargain bins PLUS the gemstone picks by some very savvy online/email vendors. Here are three we like [ed. with thanks to alert tBoW team taster Krisses!] (more…)

Concerned you ran out of time to score the BEST of Oregon’s 2008 Pinot Noir? You may have additional time with Scott Paul Wines in Carlton. He produces too many cases to qualify for the Portland Independent Wine Festival – PIWF – even though his sensibilities are definitely artisanal [ed. you know, a small producer dedicated to the craft], his focus is Pinot Noir, and his winemaking touch is deft. This means he may have some of his 2008s left when you go calling. (more…)