Dr Vino's wine blog

On Wednesday I went on Fox Business–for the second time in a week! The video for this segment is available (see it by clicking on the image at right).

We continued the discussion of “trading down” that we started last week, this time with a focus on bubbly, as the day demanded. Since I didn’t get a chance to actually mention the Dibon cava brut reserve (about $11; find this wine) on the show, I’ll do so here: it’s some really easy drinking stuff, great for parties, or to accompany coconut fried shrimp, as I did recently (it sure beat Lipitor, which could have also worked for that dish). I brought the tasty Roederer Estate brut NV on the show as well (find this wine). And for those who really didn’t want to trade down–or simply prefer fine Champagne in the winter, as I do, economic climate be somewhat damned–I brought the Larmandier-Bernier, brut, premier cru, blanc de blancs (about $45; find this wine). It’s a fantastic example of a grower Champagne and one of my favorites.

So here’s the big mystery question: since they didn’t allow us to pour wine on the set, what bubbly was actually in our glasses at the end?

[Before launching into this post, be sure to get a laugh with this spectacular, poppin’ Champagne video from Japan, posted here earlier this year!]

“We’re selling a lot of Prosecco,” a leading Manhattan retailer told me recently as he has observed consumers trading down from Champagne this fall. Not only are people trading down within grape bubbly, Starwood hotels forecast that beer would be the bubbly of choice for the holidays this year. Say it ain’t so! Here are a few grape bubblies worth seeking out.

In my quest to provide bubbly at every one of my events, I have, indeed, had to trade down from Champagne several times. I’ve had the Col Vetoraz (find this prosecco) and the Bisson (find this prosecco), two slightly off-dry versions of the simple and fun Prosecco under $15. (The Bisson could fake people out before opening since it doesn’t have a large cork akin to most bubbly.)

At the most recent meeting of a local wine tasting group I belong to, the theme was bubbly and we poured the sparklers not from Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, the traditional grapes of Champagne, in one flight, blind. The Cremant d’Alsace from Lucien Albrecht (about $18; find this cremant) won by a mile with its good acidity and fine bead.

In the domestic sparkler category, I approached the Gruet with trepidation after a previous experience that fell quite, um, flat. But the rose ($15; (find this sparkler) got a thumbs up.

In the Champagne flight, more serious bubbles in the glass and in price, I was surprised that the Taittinger brut La Francaise (find this champagne) came out on top. Although it’s an excellent nonvintage wine, it’s a lighter style that I thought would be trumped by the the richer and fuller and delicious Bollinger Cuvee Speciale (find this champagne), which came in second. Gosset (find this champagne), another fine champagne, came in third.

Let us know what you plan to pop tonight! And whatever it is, may you have a happy new year!

“Merry Christmas!” I said to my aunt as she greeted us at the door for our annual wintry get together with my cousins. “Here’s 24 liters of wine!” Although I had told her that I would bring the wine, I hadn’t mentioned that it was eight three-liter boxes of wine. Season’s greetings!

So my relatives were the latest involuntary recruits in my effort to find the best box wines of 2008. You might think that the best box wine is kind of like being the tallest resident in Gulliver’s Lilliput. And you’d mostly be right. But since I called for more wine to be put in box format for economic and environmental reasons earlier this year, I thought that I owed it to you to do a quick survey of the landscape. I still think they make sense economically since they pack in the same amount as four regular bottles and mostly sell for around $20 (although the most expensive one I tried was $40).

What I like best about the packaging is the ability to squeeze off a glass a night for an extended period of time, thirty days or more according to the producers.

Standing tall
1. Yellow + Blue Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina (about $11 for one liter; find this wine)
This organically grown red from Argentina sees no oak, is shipped to North America in a tanker where it is packaged into a Tetra Pak–think juice boxes for adults. I’ve poured this wine, introduced for the first time in 2008, many times to groups this year, often blind and from a decanter, and it has been almost universally praised. And when I tell them it’s the equivalent of $8 a bottle, they usually wonder where they can get a case.

2. “From the tank,” Estezargues, 2007. Cotes du Rhone (about $40; find this wine)
This big blend of grenache, syrah and carignan, has that ripe, juicy quality from many of the wines of the region. New to the US market this year, it’s organically grown and has a complexity that you really wouldn’t expect from a three liter, bag-in-box format. One word of caution: I found that this wine depreciated a week after opening so it may be best at parties, rather than nursing it over a whole month.

The best of Lilliput
Underdog Wine Merchants is a relatively new unit of The Wine Group, a boring sounding company that is actually the third largest producer of wine in America. They know a thing about box wine too since they make the dreaded Franzia, which has stigmatized the box format almost single handedly. But with Underdog, they are generally cranking quality up a notch, appealing to specific demographics with various brands, which can more often than not, seem to be trying a bit too hard with cutesy names or text on the packaging.

The best of their offerings, in my view, are the BOHO Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay (about $20 for 3L; find this wine). You won’t mistake the Cab for a St. Estephe in a blind tasting but it seems to have something approaching on structure, without excessive flab that many super-low-priced Cali Cabs have from oak chips. The Chardonnay is also restrained in it’s oak effect, a good thing in my view.

Honorable mention
Darling Hills, Ovation, South Africa (about $20 for 3L; find this wine): a 50-50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault, the workhorse grape originally from the South of France. It has a smoky note–think chipotle–that some that I served this absolutely adored, others hated. One thing’s for certain: the wine changed for the worst after only a couple of weeks of being open, so drink up.

Killer Juice (about $20 for 3L; find this wine): Another wine from Underdog, this wine is packaged with a Harley aesthetic and the dramatic proclamations about the “killer” quality. While I found it a little two brawny and low in acidity, it was a favorite at my aunt’s house as my cousins kept squeezing off pours from this one. A crowd pleaser.

I look forward to reviewing box wines again in 2009. Three liter box wines have been a strong growth segment for the past few years and consumer attitude, as least on this site, are ready. So I’m raising a glass in the hope that more producers will continue to see better wines in this format.

John Gilman is one of the people who I have enjoyed getting to know in 2008. He started his career in wine retail, later worked as a sommelier with a soft spot for Burgundy, and now has embarked on the foolhardy notion of writing a bi-monthly wine newsletter, A View from the Cellar. Except maybe he’s not so foolhardy since, unlike a blog, he actually charges for his newsletter! Started in 2006, John has quickly won the respect of collectors and the people in the trade. He’s often provocative and not afraid to call things as he sees them; one of my favorite parts of his newsletter is the “roadkill” section where he discusses bottles he’s tried recently that were over the hill, mostly prematurely since they were made to attract attention in their youths but have failed to mature.

To give you a flavor of his preferences and picks, I asked him several questions via email. I broke it up in to two postings. In this first posting, John discusses what would be in his cellar if he were starting collecting today, what he drinks at home on a Tuesday night, the most underrated wines for aging, where Lafite 2005 will be in five years, and what would be his “desert island wine.” Onward!

If you had no collection and were going to put $1,000 into, say, at least two cases of wines available now for drinking 10+ years from now, what wines would you include? Read more…

“I always thought port was gross,” a friend told me after I poured him a port that he actually liked. “But I guess that’s because I always had it at my uncle’s where the bottle had been open since last Christmas.”

Indeed, port is not gross; in fact, it can be delicious. This year I’ve tried some excellent vintage ports, some with several decades of age on them, which makes them fantastic. The only trouble with vintage port is that it requires so much patience, usually two decades’ worth. Many of the top vintage ports currently on the market run close to $100 a bottle.

There’s another way to get the vintage character with a discount and put it in the express lane: Late Bottled Vintage or LBV. To qualify as vintage port, the wine must be bottled within about two years of harvest and do much of its aging in bottle. But the port houses age some of the port from one vintage longer, sometimes up to six years in cask, and then bottle it as LBV. It’s vintage character port that’s ready to drink.

The Taylor-Fladgate LBV 2003 is an excellent example. The vintage was outstanding and the producer it top notch. The port in the glass has a vibrant red-purple hue, lovely sweet and ripe aromas, and an unctuous, viscous, multi-layered palate that has a pleasant spice on the finish. We tried this with some friends who happened to have some Roquefort on hand and it really was one of those classic, perfect pairings. All we needed was a roaring fire!

Here’s perhaps the best part: I asked that friend how much he would pay for the port, with it’s handsome embossed bottle. He said $50. It’s actually under $20 (find this port). What a great gift!

The Quinta do Noval LB won lots of praise at two events where I poured it recently. Another top producer, this port doesn’t state a vintage, opting instead for the LB. It’s under $20 as well (find this port).

A little port does go a long way so it’s probably best to open when you have people over. As to the freshness of LBVs, I find that they can keep for a few days (maybe five), but shouldn’t sit around for too long after opening. Don’t be like my friend’s uncle and keep it too long and then foist it on unsuspecting guests!

The other day I had a great Zierfandler. How often can you say that?

Made by Weingut Stadlmann in Austria’s Thermenregion region, to the south of Vienna, the white wine comes from the 45 year old Zierfandler vines of the Mandel Hoh vineyard. The 2006 has aromas somewhat akin to Marsanne or other Rhone whites, with a hint of peach, white flowers, quince, minerals, slight alcohol and minerals. The wine has a beautiful, arching minerality on the palate and is completely dry. I went back to it on day two and found it to be one of the rare wines that actually improves on when open for a day so decanting could be in order. A wine of this quality and limited production for under $30 is a real find (find this wine) .

By chance, I encountered another wine from Stadlmann, their Rotgipfler, on a wine list on Friday at lunch. Also, viscous and minerally, this wine has aromas of poached apple while, again, being completely dry. It paired perfectly with parsnip soup. And at under $15 retail (find this wine), I’m going to snag a few more bottles. And I’ve written about their value pinot noir before. Stadlmann is one to watch!

I snapped this photo of Slovenian winemaker and owner AleÅ¡ Kristančič of Movia when he was in NYC in October. He’s pouring his superb, distinctive 2005 Lunar from the Ribolla Gialla grape (about $45; find this wine), which, as you can see, is cloudy and golden-orange in color. It needs air, which is one reason why he’s pouring it from his custom decanter!

Grapes, freshly pressed, often need a good bit of time to be enjoyed as wine. For olives, I was reminded the other day, freshly pressed is A-OK.

I tasted the “novello” 2008 oil from Tenuta di Caezzano in Tuscany, where 26,000 olive trees grow on 145 acres. As is visible in the photo, the new oil just popped with lively green compared to the one year old extra virgin on the left. The olives are hand harvested and pressed that evening to ensure freshness and a low acidity. Indeed, the novello has great intensity of flavor is a great treat. I briefly thought about becoming a modern day sharecropper when I learned that the harvest workers receive about half the oil made from olives they harvest. Hmm, how long to earn my weight in olive oil?

The property also has 100 acres of vines. At a tasting at the offices of the wine’s US importer, LVMH, I chatted with Beatrice Contini Bonacossi about their wine that particularly caught my fancy, the unctuous sweet 2002 vin santo (find this wine). The delicious, caramel colored wine is rich and thick, with notes of hazelnuts and sultanas, but surprisingly light given the 15.5% alcohol.

The grapes, mostly Trebbiano but wth some San Colombano and Canaiolo, are harvested in September and then dried on straw mats in their own, large climate controlled room until about March, when the concentrated juice is finally pressed pressed out of them. They ferment in chestnut and cherry casks and continue to age in barrel for five years.

She recommends having it by itself. But if you do pair it with food, she recommends biscotti, fruit tart, or a hard cheese like pecorino adding that panna cotta is a total flop. I’ll take her word since it seems like a lovely finish to a wintry meal to me all on its own.