Posts belonging to Category Paso Robles



Hey Mr Covid19! We’re Still Drinking Wines!!

IS THAT ALL YOU GOT MR. CORONA?

Not Impressed. Not By a Long Shot. We Are Hunkering down and drinking wine and..and..and..so much more!!

tBoW and pals – and the occasional drifter – are spending more time on zoom than an Easter/Passover congregant. Thanks to the Desert Wine Shop – who shipped us a case for $154 including shipping – we have plenty of libations with which to celebrate the High Holy Days. Of course we also have a cellar. I mean a proper one; not a bedroom stuffed to the gills with cases of indeterminate labels. WORD: those cases have been curated by the indomitable Krisses…so you can be certain those boxes are filled with obscure delights…the kind one might find in shops like these https://shopobscuraantiques.com/ once featured on the TV show Oddities [ed. find entire seasons on youtube].

We are still accumulating wines for the long haul. As the history of pathogens has shown humankind for 700 years, this shit don’t just disappear. Now we have the anthropocene to consider [ed. for a heavy dose of pandemic history and microbial science you can read all about it here]. Thanks to pal CarltheBrain – CtB-  for the info. For sheer entertainment – while drinking worthwhile wines – check out the daily press briefings from the White House. How soon before the Big Cheeto comes to the podium looking like Iron Man above?

Here is how we have been entertaining ourselves and staying sane.

2018 Chateau d’Oupia Minervois Les Heretiques $10.56: Absolutely incredible. The perfect tBoW wine. Balanced? Check. Tasty fruit backed by some grit? Check. Balanced? Already said that. OK. How about the wine is true to the region? Super check. This is important. Light to middleweight. How often do we taste a wine that is reminiscent of somewhere other than it was grown? Too often. This is mostly (100%) Carignane from the Languedoc where tBoW visited in 2001. Yup. One month before Nine Eleven. The wine growing region 20 years was still regarded as chump change in the world of French super locales, i.e., Burgundy and Bordeaux. The mini-locales included Minervois, Corbières and Coteaux-du-Languedoc. Château d’Oupia is the winery. Who knew the site is legendary! We can tell you the wine meets the hype…and that is before we knew there was any hype. We called Katie at Desert Wine Shop grabbed another quad.

2009 Esprit de Tablas $45. The Tablas Creek winery was iconic. The first major site/venture in the USA to NOT plant Cabernet and Bordeaux varietals. Chose to go with Rhone grapes that suited the weather! Duh. And they started a nursery with vines imported from the Rhone. But one must wait on these collectible wines…and that can sooo haaaard. tBoW often failed and pulled a cork on a tough, tannic monster “before its time.” Then we had to “aerate” like a Brooklyn launderer. Had to purchase multiple kinds of aerators to do it better and faster. Thankfully we found other wines like Burgundies and Altopiemonteses to distract ourselves. Now it is time to clear the TC remainders. Today the tough tannic monster is a much softer patch of heavy sweet grass. Color is dark. Weight is middle to heavy. Flavors? Sappy but short of syrup. These wines were too ripe when harvested. And still too ripe! Double duh. Towards the earthy style. Find friends who always wanted to drink well-aged classic collectible wines from California. And drink up!

2018 A.A. Baadenhorst The Curator $8.06. Another Katie pick. Red Blend from South Africa. Already tBoW is skeptical. I texted KrisB “easily most memorable wine I have had from South Africa.” KrisB response? – “those are words seldom associated with South African wine.” The wine is pleasant. Even enjoyable. I wouldn’t chill it like the Spanish summer red wine the color of vampiric blood. slugged down on the balcony of a Sevilla hotel in July. Before I could text Katie…Mrs. tBoW said “nice label kinda art deco you think?” But…but…the wine itself is so…what’s that word? MEH. What is the problem with South African wines? Start with Pinotage…”a red wine grape that is South Africa’s signature variety. It was bred there in 1925 as a gutsy cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault.” A nation blended two grapes so it could have its own “unique signature” grape? DUMB. Mrs. tBoW likes it. Red wines do not always agree with her, esp the kind of wines we favor which have balancing acid that brings out nuances when well made. OK. This is quaffable. Inoffensive drink. The Shania Twain of reds. The perfect “food wine” for any season. Let’s get more, she suggests. 2 more from DWS! Now I am at a half case!

2015 Domaine Tortochot Morey St Denis $35: Still young. Early middle age like KrisB and Ikorb. Great color deep ruby. Complex flavors. Cherries more than beets. Supremely balanced with a slight tilt to elegance. Think Jane Fonda in Barbarella…[ed. watched the movie recently]. Could go another 3 years ez. Burgundy. King of wines. Medieval. Vineyards passed down thru the family for centuries. Hard to say no when the right offer comes. So we do not…say no.

Dr. John wants to help us all cast a demonic spell on Mr Covid19. Might work. Nobody knows. Give a listen. Gris gris gumbo ya ya.

 

Wine in the Time of Corona

Making Sense of Chaos.There’s a message here.

It’s a pandemic. Nothing to sillify. Very serious. However if the moron in the White House can act a fool then so can tBoW!! With apologies to all seriously concerned scientists, citizens and guests…tBoW just wants to chat about wines he has tasted recently. Of course the pandemic has impacted the wine business. Amazingly some wine tours remain hopeful for May. The wine tasting conference business is also reconsidering the drunken soirees, uh…we mean serious considerations of wine science. We think about our favorite shops in Palm Springs and Woodland Hills and we are confident they are still in business. Having said that…

Just because one is scared silly with a serious illness running out of control around the world is no reason to shut the shutters and abandon healthy habits. Wash your hands. Do not touch your face! Keep social distance. Pull some corks. This too will pass. In fact…just stay the heck home. It will all be over in April…I mean June…maybe September?

Here is how tBoW has been hunkering down. We pulled corks.

2009 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beuacastel 14.5% $: TC is somewhat fussy in the guise of being informative. The exact percentages of each grape in a blend are right there on the label. This is 40% Mourvedre, nearly equal proportions Syrah and Grenache and a taste of Counoise. Nobody loves a little counoise more than Dotore and tBoW. Bought this on release [ed. tBoW was a subscriber back then]. An example of being beyond the pale. Past its peak for certain but not over the hill. Choco bread evoking a Holiday Fruit cake. Held on for 36 hours which is impressive. We drank a decade worth of TC. Someone else can pull the cork. We prefer Burg and Altopiemonte [ed. seriously, folks are suffering terribly north of Milan].

2015 Marchesi di Barolo Maraia Barbera del Monferrato 13% $: Surprise! Not too tanic. Hardly even tannic. Yummy out of the bottle. Kermit selection? Think so. Some cranberry. Ripe and young.

2016 Cap O Sud 11-14% $16: Got this at Woodland Hills Wine Co. What a deal. From the Sud which is the southwest region of France. THis region is so funky and down home in overproduction years the unsold juice has been used as house fuel. I KID YOU NOT. tBoW and kin visited on a superb holiday in 2001. The region was completely uncool; not even close to being on the radar of the wine cognoscenti. How did we know to go? Soon as someone suggested going to Provence that was it. No frigging way were we going to sit in an overcrowded sheeshee spot eating overpriced food so when we get home we can say we were in Aix en Provence. Try Capistaing, Puisserguier and Carcassonne withe the surrounding wall to wall vineyards. This is the kind of wine you get from the Sud. Still unfashionable [ed. maybe a bit more fashionable – I believe Desert Wine Shop has some]. Vintage? Shmintage. Pizza and burger wine.

2018 Andre et Michel Quenard Chignin-Bergeron Les Terasses 13.5%, $35 (discounted from this): Kermit Lynch import. 100% Rousanne grown at elevation. KL says racy. tBoWadds frisky and refreshing. Imagine Esther Williams when she was fresh and new…in a bottle of wine. Kermit is not the cheapest wine vendor. He is the most sure handed. Hard to buy a bottle that does not please.

The TikTok video below is actually very cool. The fellows are showing kids how to wash their hands to avoid the novel corona! Huge views among tweeners.

Cellar Purge: Wait Too Long & Suffer Like Postseason Doyers

SIGN OF GREAT WINE? BE REAL.

Would you pull the cork on one of these dusty moldy bottles with excitement or trepidation? The task is not any easier for much larger concerns. Consider the Dodgers. Their pitching staff is somewhat like the photo. They got rid of one very bad bottle but held onto a couple showing serious signs of age.

Los Doyers had the chance to get another relief pitcher before the deadline and failed to do what was obvious. Now comes the lesson. When one fails to do the obvious now one often pays the price later on.

Image result for CLAYTON KERSHAW SLIPPING

PAST HIS PRIME

So it is also true with wine “collecting.” As the reader should understand we no longer “collect” wine. Although we have in the past. “Collecting” involves buying “trophy bottles” [ed. see Wine Speculator and 100 point scores] with heavily hyped name winemakers or labels. This rarely works out when it comes to actually pulling a cork. Another “collecting” mistake is buying a wine because it “means something” like a favorite travel destination. Or winning a World Series.

The final collecting mistake is actually good advice. Somebody gives you a bottle of plonk over the upcoming horrible holidays? Get rid of it. Re-gift it. Just do not let the Riesling from Yakima WA occupy any space on the bar or god forbid in the cellar. We learned these lessons once again when recently re-doing the cellar. Think about how the Dodgers dumped Yasiel Puig. He had to go. Stuck around way too long.

tBoW and Ikorb went thru our shared cellar last week. Every bottle was under consideration. The new cellar features a new cooler (Whisperkool 5000 on Craigslist $600 cash) and half as much space which means half as many bins. Many many bottles were purged. The new org scheme features the most precious wines, e.g., Ital Nebs and French Pinots. It had to be. [ed. he has a handful of domestic Pinot Noir which has-to-go] Ten cases of bought-and-paid-for wines will be arriving in 60 days from Fass Selections, Kermit Lynch and even Garagiste [ed. Fass and Rimmerman in dead heat for most entertaining online retailers]. tBoW Sr. has decided to devote his wine selections to David Russell of WHWC [ed. just picked up two Corsican DR picks].

HE HAD TO GO

Wines that did not make the cellar cut: Rangeland 2009 Cabernet and 2009 Zinfandel. tBoW felt strong ties to the young winemaker when visiting on 2010. When tBoW writes the following about a winemaker you know a purchase of wine will follow. “Shannon is Audrey Hepburn in a hoodie, Astrud Gilberto punching down the cap.” Bought too many bottles. Most opened within a couple years. Waiting 10 years for the last couple three makes the point.

Do not wait too long – like more than four years -on 95% of California wines. Unless the wines are from Tablas Creek. We expect those to be ready in another five years [ed. which would be a total of 15 to 20 years]! And they will be finally ready. Will they be worth the wait? Who can say. We are no longer fond of red Rhone style wines no matter the vintage! [ed. note to readers white Rhones not included]. At ten years the Rangeland – which was not intended to go this long – was completely out of sorts.

POWERHOUSE CONSISTENCY

The other wine we held far too long was the 2009 Chateau Cambon. This illustrates another “collector” mistake – buying the winemaker [ed. see above Rangeland] and not the wine. This was the last wine made by Marcel Lapierre the “legendary winemaker” of Beaujolais, in particular Morgon [ed. Beaujolais has more than 5 but less than ten villages – look it up!]. Beauj is 100% Gamay juice. Every wine drinker needs to make up her mind about Gamay juice. Part of the argument aside from palate preference, was that Beaujolais and Gamay were the poor man’s Burgundy choice. Not really. It is always about the Price-Quality ratio aannnndddd what your palate prefers. Gamay just does not do it for tBoW.

We still have Beaujolais in the cellar. None from 2009 any more. However there are several from 2013. These can form the first flight to a late summer tasting.

After three “flawed” wines we settled on Burgundy [ed. duh]. We had a 2010 and a 2011 Roty Marsannay. Right. We opened both. 

The 2010 was delishus. The 2011 was delishus. These Roty wines from Marsannay were a tad more rustic than the Fournier Marsannay slugged down recently. Small point. Both bottles were exhausted enthusiastically. Ikorb noted that the nose on the 2011 “stinks of truffles.” His sniffer is legendary.

One needs a guide to identifying quality Burgs. If you like truffles – or cherries or beets – you will love Burgundy wines however selection is everything. I believe the same can be said of German Rieslings. And Maus will tell us we may apply these same considerations to his special spots [ed. Rhone plus other off the trail regions in France] where he knows exactly what to buy.

Wait! One more lesson learned. Start with the highest quality when filing your cellar; not from the bottom. Andrew Friedman chose not to replace his GM who left for the Giants [ed. nice job there]. Instead he split the job of one technocrat among three others. Expect to see postseason analysis of that failure–to–fulfill. Astros in 6…again. However I actually hope the Dodgers prevail so there will never be another World Series trophy wine like this one below.

Field Maus Finds His Hoops+Wine Tabernacle!

Lakers Get Anthony Davis. Pelicans Get Instant Contender Status. tBoW Gets Grenache. (more…)

Some Mice! Some Wine! and Thou…

When the Cat Is Away…

[ed. Mr. Story: We are proud and honored to share with you the post below from the expert creator of the award-winning and globally known Mouse Wine Rating Scale, MAUS! Let us all read attentively as the MAUS politely squeaks his knowledge to us…]

A quick reminder about ratings. One MOUSE means I’d proudly serve this wine to anyone; Two MICE, a special occasion wine; three MICE, life-changing. [ed. Mr. Story fantasizes for a moment about how life changing a three mice wine would be paired elegantly with a three mice rated cheese. Oh who needs marriage when you could have that pairing!]

Today we look at SIX wines that total EIGHT mice.

Bacchus seems bearish on California pinot these days. I understand? Kinda? Problem is, they’re not burgundies, and they will never be. Nothing will. But they’re darn tasty.

2012 Onward Hawkeye Ranch (Redwood Valley). OK, I had to look up Redwood Valley, and what I learned was no surprise – Mendocino. Best pinot locale in USA. This wine, purchased for $10+S&H on winebid, is the lightest domestic around. Almost rose-ay. Slightly reminiscent of Marsannay, except Marsannay blows. This shows rose petals, red currant and lemon curd. Problem: it’s gone in 20 minutes.

2012 Inman Family Wine OGV Estate Pinot Noir. $25 plus S&H ($65 at wine shed they sell from). Olivet Grange, their site says, layers both Russian River and Sonoma Coast. Like the previous offering, this is subtle and Chambolley. What am I thinking? Burgundy? Well, this just needs a little spice to pass for the real deal. Bacchus would like. I sent a bottle to my brother-in-law and he flipped. You will too if you try this. More body than the Onward, but subtle as heck. An usually good domestic.

2012 Furthermore Weir Vineyard York Creek Pinot Noir. Pure California pinot in a great way. Lush, medium body, raspberry souffle that makes you want to buy an Alfa Romeo [ed. Mr. Story must contact the wine maker’s legal department immediately because the lack of a warning re this side effect is definitely a risk management issue that should be added to the label]. Another expensive wine (for me) that sold for half price on winebid, $25. York Creek is apparently as north as they grow in ever-loving Mendocino. I’ve never had a better pinot west of Paris. Almost changed my life. [ed. tBoW – I had a heckuvva time finding this winery, never located the particular bottling. These guys are P-R-I-C-E-Y so at $25 on winebid this was a super deal missing an extra digit up front ifyagetmuhdrift…and you like Sonoma Coast Pinot!]

White Interlude……………………

2014 Pikes Riesling Clare Valley. $15.  Aussies, and Kiwis, do a fine job with riesling. This is no exception. 12%, off dry. Lime with notes of petrol. Third glass starts to sear a bit of enamel off the teeth. Drink alone.  Meaning, don’t share. GREAT value. ONE Mouse.

 

 

GREECE! In spring we happened to be in Metsovo, a breathtakingly beautiful mountain village near nowhere. I read about its wine history; it’s boring.

 

 

 

 

2013 Rossiu di Munte Cabernet Sauvignon. I think the actual winery is called something else, but it’s Greek. Purchased in village from small food shop with local gourmet selection. Proprietor was super friendly and begged me try this wine. Perhaps his brother-in-law makes it. Not cheap! 27 Euros. Popped it last month. Had all the characteristics of a Graves but lacked body and depth. Menthol city, however. Superfun, however; the kind of experience that makes traveling a blast. 1/2 Mouse.

2015 Domaine Costa Lazaridi Amethystos. 90 percent cab and merlot, 10% indigenous agiorgitiko. Purchased for 18 Euro at Athens airport. From the northeast tip of the country in a region called Drama. I mean, they invented theater, right? So good that I went online to see if the wine [ed. tBoW; we already have plenty of drama round these parts] available stateside. Yes, about 20 minutes away from me at TotalWine in Milford CT for the same price as airport. Best I can describe: you’re 22 years old and just starting to drink wine that costs more than a movie ticket. You find this, and your whole perspective changes. Wait, there’s more than one flavor? OK, this is rather international in style. But so is Helen Mirren. One Mouse. [ed. tBoW loves Helen Mirren,]

[ed. Mr. Story: All of this mouse talk has Mr. Story thinking about cheese; a hobby he shares with mice. Perhaps Maus could rate cheeses with mice and then provide a rating (in mice) for the wine and cheese pairing.]

[ed. tBoW] The Greek actress, the Greek film, the Greek dance moves that started it all!! If this doesn’t warm you up get in front of a mirror…you may be a ghost.