Posts belonging to Category Portugal

With our lives governed by precious petrol we had little choice but to turn to wine as an alternative fuel source over Labor Day. The Large provided the first tasting session on a perfectly sunny SoCal day. After checking out the SW swell at Salt Creek we retired for a serious and amusing tasting dubbed Le Ruse Rouge de Mooj. The crew assembled for the avalanche of U20 wines laced with commentary heavy in fake Frénch acceñts. Let’s get to it. Many of the wines are still available.

Chris primed the tasters with a nice selection of Rosés that showcased the range of varietals and regions making up this prototypical summer beverage. (more…)

We know it’s the thick of summer when cognitive haze from the PM seems indistinguishable from the typical cloudy overcast in the AM. Looking back is easier than being there if we glide like Roller Girl does in the outstanding Burt Reynolds comeback film [ed. tBoW has Le Large cinematic hangover, do scrutinize the trailer above and Heather Graham's debut couch scene below]. Summer IS presently in full stride and we are not always able to describe all the wines we are sampling. Here are some of what has been left on the bar with a cork in it next to the detritus of night work. Quite a haul, too, with some really nice wines from Paso, Provence and Israel just to tease your curiosity. And there will be even more next week with the Field Mouse in town. (more…)

ME..I WANT A HULA HOOP! Fortunately, Alvin did not help select the offerings of the day-long tBoW Open House. Dotoré and REL were first to arrive and nearly last to leave eight hours later. tBoW team tasters filled the front lines as veterans retreated for fresh glasses. All indulged enthusiastically on Christmas lasagna and an endless loop of corny cool Christmas music that competed for attention with what turned out to be a very nice wine lineup. The wines were especially intriguing because they included a couple of oldies (mid 90s), a pricey recent vintage white wine, and a slew of U20 bargains in white and red. I’ll tell you what – that was more than a party. It was a dang seminar. After all was poured and quaffed, the wines showed up the Chipmunks pretty well. The lasagna and butter cookies held their own. The next day we skipped the sales and headed for Santa Anita for more excitement!

2009 Dauvissat Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru $50: First wine this day so it had to be good. With palates alive we found the wine to be even lovelier than hoped for. Baking soda nose. Butterscotch already there although muted. Should develop with a few more years. Wish we had a few more bottles of this. Truly lovely Chardonnay from a supposedly underwhelming vintage in Burgundy. Hnnh. Supposedly from 50 y.o. vines. Maybe that’s why it costs 50 bucks. 13%

1995 Elio Altare Barolo $70: Carried por mano from La Morra in 2001 by Dotoré. It was just the two of us when Doc Holliday’s “heir-ator” apparent bespoke “pop that cork.” 1995 was a tough vintage followed by two magnificently seductive ones. This wine was rough-hewn right out of the bottle. The deeply lined face of Tommy Lee Jones comes to mind, along with his intriguing charm. All the tar is there. We knew the bouquet would open with time and hoped it would be the tell-tale Barolo roses. 45 minutes later the fruit is beginning to show along with meaty aromas and flavors. The wine did not completely bloom to Piemonte roses but the informed few like PTT8Y and T3 Tootsie-The-Taster, kept coming back for more until it was all gone. Nice work Dotoré. 13.5%

2007 Scott Paul Le Paulee $30: We have linked the two wines because a naive taster noted “these two wines remind me of each other.” We love an innocently stated astitution.

Barolo and Pinot Noir do share qualities and characteristics if not flavors. Usually takes awhile to get it…but not always. Screw top entry level from notable Carlton vintner Scott Paul Wright. 2007 got some negative early press that we now see was based on a misbegotten love affair with the over-ripe 2006 vintage. This wine is delightful and delicious. “Volnay, simply nice” says Dotoré in a good way. Forthright Pinot nose. No mistaking this grape. Not too ripe for which the 2007 vintage from the Willamette Valley is known and unfairly maligned. Really makes the case for the best domestic Pinot Noir coming out of Oregon’s Willamette Valley 40 minutes southwest of Portland. Nice effort. Could easily go another year if you see it anywhere near $25. But why wait? 13.1%

2010 Domaine St Antonin “Lou Cazalet” Faugéres $15: Garagiste posts another winner! With the 2 Rieslings below this brings the G. record to 4-1-1. Much better. This is the Languedoc blend we know we prefer: Syrah, Grenache, maybe some Mourvedre. Big, rough, middleweight red. “Blowsy” declares the suddenly loquacious Dotoré. This wine held up for 90 minutes before it disappeared. Call me hope-ful but I think the November election will go the same way as this day’s tastes. The voters will go back for what they like and forget about what they don’t like. Uuhhh…the wine. Here is an example of high alcohol level balancing out with enough fruit, weight and general presentation so that the alcohol is integrated. A U20 super value. 15%

2007 Schlöss Lieser Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling Spatlese $19: Show me the apples! Just fab. I thought we were past the white wines and came the call…Riesling? Where’s the Riesling? This is a G. [ed. G. is Garagiste, soon we will have O.G. for Original Garagiste] winner. Just yummy. Light on its feet as we might expect. Dances across the palate. Amazing that after several hours of reds with the Chablis long gone and a Vinho Verde upside down in the ice bucket (excellent $5 Espiral from Trader Joes) this wine would still be able to call attention to itself. 2012 will be a Riesling year. 8.5%

2007 Reichsrat Von Buhl Armand Riesling Kabinett $13: Mouthful of tangy zesty lychee fruit. Kris-B thinks the wine is a bit simple. We got a whollop of tangerines on the finish after another 15 minutes in the glass and are happy Kris-B suggested we grab it. It is from the Pfalz which is a region a Mösel snob would eschew but this proves how biasing auto-preference can be. What’s not to like? A G. and a U20 winner. 9%

1994 Ferreira Port $87: We started the day in the mid 90s and finished there. Ask and ye shall receive a bookend finish on Christmas Day. These are good years to be opening the finest vintage since 1977. These wines are just perfect and still on the upward arc. This is ready to be enjoyed right now. Solid fruit with next to zero tannins showing. Up-and-coming team taster X captures the flavors: “chewy dried mango fruit.” Perfectly balanced. Complemented the cakes and cookies like the 4th horse in the 4th race. Another winner down the stretch. 20%

Sorry to blog and bolt but another year is already here and it is going to require our full attention. Happy New Year. We leave you with the last of the Krisses Mösel tour images, the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr vineyard.

The season has turned. tBoW has suffered the first schnüpfen in his nélson. [ed. he caught a cold]. The A/C bill will drop only to be replaced by the heater bill. And we are loading up on, and pulling corks of, red wines once again. This is a good time to discuss something every “collector” must consider. (more…)

The Alentejo sun is so blindingly bright I had to squint when looking at the ground. We have always depended on the kindness of mega-vintners. Imagine our relief when the sommelier for this 1.25 million case winery asked us into the dining room for shelter, food and drink. Other wandering wine-farers were already in the temporary structure recovering from their travels and the winery tour. Good company among new friends – especially chatty and charming sisters – only enhances great food and a separate table to manage the many bottles being opened by our host and sommelier Carla Pires for our consideration. Portugal can be wonderful this way. (more…)