Domaine la Bouissiere Gigondas 2005

So, I was actually planning on having my first post on this blog be an introduction to Piedmont, but it turns out I drink a lot of wine, so it looks like I'm going to be doing a lot more tasting notes. Last night I was at my parents' house for grilled flank steak and mashed potatoes with a little truffle oil, which was paired with this great Gigondas.

So, I checked the back-story on the winemakers, apparently they're French or something. But seriously folks... Anyway, the most interesting thing about Gilles and Thierry Faravels' vineyard is one of the highest elevation vineyards in the Gigondas appellation. Oh, Gigondas is in the Rhone, just in case anybody doesn't know that. There are 13 allowed grapes in the Rhone (Thank you, Scott). Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre are the most well-known, and the only 3 in this Gigondas. The family vines average 30-50 years old. Vine age and high elevation work as a team, like Sonny and Cher... I don't really know where I was going to go with that comparison, so never mind. I guess I could go back and erase it, but if you're reading this then I obviously decided not to. The point I was trying to make was that growing conditions make for a more elegant style of wine than many other Gigondas producers. The nose is very pretty, with blackberry and spice and a little cocoa powder action to it, the palate is rich, but stops short of being the big, chunky baked-fruit affair that some wines of this region can turn into. With dusty raspberry and blackberry and some chocolate on the palate, bright juicy fruit, fine tannins and excellent acidity, this wine showed well at this age, but it's not shy about telling you to lay it down for a few years.

As I continued my research, I learned that the Faravel brothers are just the type of winemakers I've always respected. They've been farming their vineyards organically since the 80's, and they use as little added sulfites as possible in all of their wines. The grapes are always hand-picked, the wines always gravity-fed from tank to barrel, and the wines are rarely fined or filtered.

I was going to give this wine two and a half awesomes, but I was really trying to stick to the 3-point system, and if I'm going to use half-awesomes, I should have just made it a 6-point system, or a 10-point system. I thought about adding a second level of scoring, like it gets two awesomes and a gold star or something, but that seemed a little silly. So, after thinking back over my original criteria, I'm giving this one two awesomes. I can't go so far as to call it perfect, but it's an excellent Gigondas, a great food wine, and at $30 retail, an excellent value.

Two Awesomes!

My first tasting notes!

Hooray! I tried a wine last night, and here's what I thought about it!

2004 Mount Eden Vineyards Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains.

Ok, I have to admit that I was a little turned off by the packaging of this wine. I know that's petty, but here's the thing: the wine is labeled as Cabernet, but in smaller letters on the front of the bottle is the varietal breakdown, it's actually just enough Cabernet to be able to be legally labeled Cabernet, the rest is Merlot, and a splash of Cab Franc. Now, don't misunderstand me, I have absolutely no problem with them making a blended wine, and I think they actually do a great job of it, my problem is, if you're going for a Bordeaux style with your wine, you're not doing yourself a favor by labeling it as Cabernet because people looking at the bottle are going to think it's just another big California Cab. That's just what I think though, maybe I'm a nitpicky little baby.

So, first impressions out of the way, I tried the wine. The nose was the first indication that this wasn't a typical California Cab. The fruit didn't jump out of the glass at me, and the oak, far from the overpowering wood of so many wines from Napa, was almost a whisper underneath the cassis and tart black cherry fruit. So far, I was intrigued. Moving on to the palate, remember that tart black cherry I talked about? Holy god! I'm sure that my first impression on the palate was tainted by the fact that I was still expecting something typical, and that's absolutely not what I got. I reset my expectations and went back in for another taste, and I was really impressed by how well-made this wine is. It's got blackberry and cassis and a very subtle ribbon of vanilla to go along with that tart black cherry, very fine tannins, and acidity that makes it cry out for food.

After tasting the wine I've got to stick with my initial criticism of the labeling. I think this is a really good bordeaux-styled wine, and as such, should just be labeled with the varietal breakdown, or just labeled as a red blend.

Ok, this is the end of my notes for this wine, and I guess I need like a ratings system. I'm not a big fan of the points system because then you get into the whole "what's the difference between a 92 point wine that costs $60 and a 93 point wine that costs $25" b.s. So I'm going to opt for a simpler 3-point system, using 'Awesome' as my unit of measurement.
A wine receiving 3 Awesomes is pretty much perfect as far as I'm concerned. It's classic in style, and well-worth going to great lengths to find.
A wine receiving 2 Awesomes is a good wine, I enjoyed it, it's worth it's price, I totally recommend it, I consider it to be a standout in it's category either on measure of quality, value, or both.
A wine recieving 1 Awesome is also a good wine, but I've had better. I'm not offended by it, I don't hate it, but I'm not over the moon about it either.
A wine receiving no Awesomes sucks. Now remember it's just my opinion, and who the hell am I? I'm just somebody who drinks a lot of wine and has a big mouth. If I taste a wine that makes me want to spit it out immediately, if I taste a wine that tastes absolutely nothing like the varietal it's supposed to be, if I taste a wine that makes me say 'screw it, I'll just drink water,' that's a 0 Awesome wine.

So, the Mount Eden 2004 Cab scores 2 Awesomes. Hooray!

Some basics on Piedmont

I started my relationship with wine while working in an Italian wine bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Since Italians were the first wines I really got to know, I thought they'd be a good subject for my first post. But then I got all busy writing tasting notes about the Cabernet and the Gigondas below, and I put this post on the back burner, but here it is, finally complete in all it's glory.

So, we've got a map of the wine regions of Piedmont over here, and as you can see, it's a little complicated. I'm going to do my best here to break down the basics.

To many uninitiated American consumers, one of the most recognizable areas in Piedmont is the Asti area. Some great wines come out of this region, however it's fame comes not from the quality of wines, but rather from that Martini and Rossi Asti Spumanti garbage that was marketed all over TV in the 80's. I've met a lot of people who have shied away from any wines with the d'Asti designation because of this association. Rest assured, that mass-marketed plonk is in no way representative of the real wines from the Asti region. The Asti Spumanti crap from tv was a bastardization of Moscato a'Asti, a low-alcohol, slightly sparkling, slightly sweet white wine that I happen to love. As an aperitif, it's a great alternative to Champagne, with acidity that makes them a great palate cleanser, which also makes it a great wine to serve between courses, especially if you're changing from one wine to another, or serving sorbet or anything like that. It's also an awesome wine to serve with spicy food, and if you've never tried pairing lightly sweet wine with spicy food, you're missing out. A sweet German Riesling with some spicy Thai food can be an incredible combination, and I absolutely love Moscato d'Asti paired with spicy seafood tacos. I might have to start putting recipes on my blog too, because my spicy seafood tacos are the stuff that dreams are made of.

So, whites aren't really the big thing in Piedmont. The only other white that I can even think of off the top of my head is Roero Arneis. Arneis tends toward delicate, grassy, sometimes floral character on the nose, crisp on the palate, finishing with an almost nutty character.

If there are any wine people reading this, you're probably getting pretty irritated at the fact that I've been talking this long about Piedmont without mentioning Barolo, and to those people I say, calm down. I'm trying to make this crap accessible here, and this is some dense material. So, Barolo is the big daddy wine of Piedmont. It's frequently referred to as "The king of wines, and the wine of kings." It's kind of weird to me that, while Barolo and Barbaresco are commonly described as the masculine and feminine expressions of the Nebbiolo grape respectively, no body's ever tried calling Barbaresco "The queen of wines, the wine of queens." I guess that does sound kind of gay though.

The Nebbiolo grapes tend to ripen earlier in Barbaresco, and the wines undergo a shorter maceration, and so generally mature earlier, usually becoming ready to drink within 5-10 years of vintage. Barbaresco commonly shows aromatic notes of roses or violets, with tart cherry, truffles, and licorice on the palate. Barolos generally need at least 10 years to reach maturity, especially the more traditionally styled wines. Mature Barolos will also tend to show floral characteristics on the nose, but they will generally be accompanied by darker character of tar, leather and tobacco.

The folks in Piedmont can't sit around waiting for their wine to mature all the time, of course, so they also make several wines which are meant to be consumed within just a few years of bottling. Nebbiolo grapes are also used to make younger wines called Nebbiolo d'Alba and Langhe Nebbiolo, which can be great entry-level wines for somebody trying to learn about Barolo and Barbaresco, but not wanting to spend a fortune. These wines are only required to age for 1 year before bottling, and are generally lighter, less intense versions of Barolo and Barbaresco. Also intended for early consumption are Barbera and Dolcetto, and you can generally find a broad selection of good quality wines from each of these grapes for under $20. Both wines are generally light to medium bodied. Barberas are generally slightly smoky, with ripe fruit flavors. Dolcetto's name translates literally as "little sweet one," however these are not sweet wines. The name most likely is a reference to the sweetness of the grapes, but may also refer to the aromatics of the wine, which can be very fruity and floral, and can give off the impression of sweetness on the nose. There are also a few producers who make barrique-aged Barbera wines, which are generally more intense and complex, and will last much longer in the cellar. Unfortunately there's not a different DOC designation to alert the consumer of which they're buying, so often the only way to tell is by price, as the barriqued versions are usually about 50% more expensive than their counterparts.

Ok, I'm done talking about Piedmont for the moment. I know I didn't cover everything, so I'm sorry if there are any Freisa Fanatics out there who feel overlooked.

I'm sure I'll have something else I need to spout off about before too long.

Until then, may the force be with you.

Why are you writing a wine blog?

Leil, why are you writing a wine blog?

Well that's an excellent rhetorical question, self. Here's why: I know some things about wine. I'd never claim to know everything, and truth be told, there are even some basics that I have trouble with. I can never remember which bank is which in Bordeaux, and if you named a Burgundian appellation, I'd have trouble telling you whether it was Cote de Beaune or Cote D'or. That being said, I do know some stuff, and I'm always trying to learn more, so this here's my wine blog. The areas about which I know most are Italian and American, and I'm working on beefing up my knowledge of French and Spanish wines. I'll put things that I know on here in the hopes that it helps people who want to learn about wine, and if there's something you thing I should know about, please feel free to post comments. I'll also post tasting notes on here of wines I'm drinking. I do work in a wine store, so most of the wines I'm tasting will be wines I'm selling, but I will do my best to be even-handed with my tasting notes, and not just try to sell stuff.

Thanks, and cheers.
Leil