My Most Exciting Wines of 2014

Whoa — 2014 is almost over? 

When I think back on this year’s awesomeness, it’s no wonder it went so damn fast. I kicked off the year with a wine trip to the Languedoc and Roussillon regions of Southern France, and had a blast exploring vineyards and tasting lots of organic and biodynamic wines.

I surfed some powerful swells on the East Coast this year. And I finally made it to my personal Mecca, South Africa, where I surfed some incredible waves and sipped many a fine wine. While here in DC, I tasted many great wines with friends and for tasting reports for the daily wine blog Terroirist. Oh, and my wife is pregnant with our first ─ a baby girl due in vintage 2015. So, yes, its been quite a year.

Like I’ve done in 2013 and 2012, I looked back over the year and picked out the wines that excited me most. When scrolling over my tasting notes from a full year, I remember not only the tasting experience but all the great people who shared the experience with me. Friends and family are a crucial ingredient to wine tasting, and I’m lucky to know some solid human beings. And I’m lucky they love wine.   

Champagne is well-represented this year. I’ve long been excited by wines from the Jura region of France, and this year I tasted a bunch of really interesting ones. We’ve also got some wines from two of my favorite American wine producers, Cayuse and Cameron. Their wines always stun me, and this year was no exception. And, look at that, a Barossa Valley Shiraz made the list.

I hope your 2014 was amazing and full of good wine and people. Cheers to 2015!

2013 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Bouzy Rouge Clos Colin - France, Champagne, Coteaux Champenois
Cherry juice color. Intoxicating nose of white and red cherries, wild strawberries, dried cranberries, not to mention the fall leaves, violets, nettles and graphite. The palate is incredibly smooth and clean while the acid is electric, well-structured by the dusty tannins. Red cherries and raspberries, so fresh, tangy and pure, backed up by complex notes of loam, truffle, cigar smoke and gravel roads. The minerality in this wine is intense, and the overall package is so complex. More black fruit than the other two wines, this is the most intricate and lasting, at the same time it’s so delicate and elegant wine. I’m stunned. This limited still Pinot (6 barrels) goes into Clicquot's La Grand Dame Rose Champagne. (96 points)

2008 Cameron Blanc Clos Electrique - Oregon
I tasted this during an amazing wine dinner, and it got me stoked. Just intoxicating with its aromas: pineapple, lime, mixed nuts, white flowers, whipped honey, crushed chalk, sea salt, quinine, endlessly complex. Palate shows lots of melon and lime, plus crisp, racy acid. Salty, chalky, lots of seashells, a mineral-driven but it’s also full and creamy. Balanced but intense, deserving even more cellar sleep. 3.5 years since I tasted this and it’s just as amazing as it was then, if not slightly more complex and nuanced. An amazing Chardonnay. (96 points)

2005 Cameron Blanc Clos Electrique - Oregon
My first taste of this vintage, and I love it. I'm perpetually impressed by this wine, every vintage, but this one is classic. Aromas of saline, apricot, graham cracker, flowers, so deep and aromatically intriguing. Pure and fresh on the palate, this is a deep and incredibly complex wine. Almonds and white tea mix with quince, lime, apples and minerals. Endless finish. Creamy and rich but the acid sings. The C word (Chablis) was thrown out a few times, and it does have that depth and nerve, but it’s also pure Oregon goodness. A beauty. (95 points)

1985 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon - France, Champagne
Gorgeous juice. Apple cider colored with a nose of hazelnut, mushroom, potpourri, rye bread and baked apples. Tingly acid, full body, creamy, with incredibly complex notes of mushroom, dark bread, forest floor on top of candied citrus. An amazing experience. (95 points)

2004 Cayuse Syrah En Cerise Vineyard - Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Beautiful stuff, holding up amazingly well. Smells like every kind of olive, bloody Mary, radish, seaweed, roses, wet earth and white pepper, and underneath some currants and plum sauce. Really velvety on the palate, with polished tannins and tangy acid in perfect balance. Juicy and fleshy with raspberry and black cherries, but this is all about the non-fruit flavors: olive tapenade, seaweed, roasted meat, smoke, pickled beets. Also some sweet floral and caramel notes. So long and pure and complex. I love the state this wine is in right now. Not sure how much longer I’d cellar this if I had some. (95 points)

2004 Cayuse Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard - Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Deeper and darker on the nose than the 04 Cailloux tasted side by side. More plum cake, baked berry pie, more black olives. I also get a meat and seaweed note. Plummy and rich with blueberries, almost cough syrup-like presence, but it’s actually very pleasant and precise at the same time – somehow. So many complex flavors to unpack: fall leaves, bacon fat, teriyaki jerky, also some dried rose potpourri and lavender notes. A feast for the senses and a beautiful accompaniment to the slow cooked lamb shoulder. (95 points)

2002 Two Hands Shiraz Ares - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
The cork was in great condition, the purple having oozed into the cork only an 1/8th of an inch or so. Aromas of plums, blueberry pie, pickled beets, braised meat and BBQ sauce. The palate is rich and bold but also fresh from some medium acid. Dense and plummy with blueberry and fig paste. I also get some roasted red peppers, capers and olive brine. Rich and bombastic, but also velvety and kept in some level of balance by the acid. The label reads 13-16% alcohol, but it’s gotta be 15+. Still packed with flavor and nuance, with a long finish full of black and green olive. At 12 years old, this is a beautiful Aussie Shiraz. If kept in perfect condition, this is doing well, but perhaps time to drink up over the next year or two? (94 points)

2000 Domaine Ganevat Côtes du Jura Les Vignes de Mon Père - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
What a cool wine. Color of dried honey with some spritz in the glass. Smells like my wetsuit after surfing in winter on the East Coast, with sea brine and jetty rocks and seashells all thrown together, and that is a very good thing. The acid rips across the palate, and the lemon seed and green melon notes are strong and complex, backed up by mineral, white tea and all sorts of green herbs and pickling spices. Not for the unadventurous, but I think this wine slays. (94 points)

2009 Jacques Puffeney Savagnin Arbois - France, Jura, Arbois
A crazy interesting wine. Aromas of hazelnut, sea salt, oregano, dried honey and lamp oil. Medium-bodied with bright acidity, the oxidative winemaking is obvious and intriguing, but I love the way it weaves into the other elements instead of dominating the entire wine. Flavors of green apple and apricot, laced with sea brine, jetty rocks, crushed peanut shells, oil and brie rind. Long, complex, deep, this maintains freshness and vibrancy throughout. I need to pick up some more and bury it for a decade because I'm interested to see what comes out. (94 points)

2013 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay - South Africa, Walker Bay, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
This was one of my favorite wines from my trip to South Africa. It’s a deep, complex aromas of peach, flowers, slate, honey and minerals. So pure, clean and fleshy on the palate, with flavors of white peach, pear. lemon curd, apricot and green melon. Creamy but mineral-driven, so complex yet subtle and nuanced, with all sorts of tea and slate notes. Long, complex, verging on the profound. Wow. I’d love to cellar this for two or three years. (94 points)

2004 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Rosé La Grande Dame - France, Champagne
Vibrant copper-salmon-orange color, a bit deeper in color than the 2004 Brut Rosé. Such aromatic complexity, it really takes time to open up and show its true stuffing: strawberries, apricot, red apple peel, limestone, oyster shell, sea breeze, biscuits and a hint of smoke. Tart acid on the palate, this is an intense wine but it maintains an elegant posture despite itself. Red cherries, currants and wild strawberries play off of minerals, chalk, oyster shell. Lovely toast and brioche, I get some really interesting notes that I can’t quite place, something like barley and sweet onions, but whatever it is I love it. Time coaxes out all sorts of complexity. A beautiful wine, but decades away from maturity. The Pinot in here comes from the Clos Colin plot of Bouzy, so it was fascinating to taste this wine alongside the still 2013 Clos Colin Pinot Noir. (94 points)

Hamilton Russell Wines and the Bliss of Walker Bay

The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, looking down on the winter waves of Walker Bay (left).

After a week of surfing and sightseeing on South Africa’s Cape Peninsula, my wife and I made the trek from Hout Bay to the Southern Cape seaside town of Hermanus. It was late May, and we arrived just a bit too early for the annual Southern Right whale migration, which draws eco-tourists from around the world. 

We hired a group of local conservationists and surfers to take us on a boat into Walker Bay. We tried to find some Southern Rights arriving early but were unsuccessful. We followed a few Bryde’s whales into the bay, which was amazing in its own right. As a surfer, I was just stoked to be on a boat as a 15-foot swell was rolling in from the southern ocean. 

I was excited to visit some wineries in the Walker Bay region, which is a few degrees Centigrade cooler than Stellenbosch and known for producing some excellent Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. As a lover of the sea, I reveled in the oceanic influence. The air smells of crashing waves and sea shells and the wines taste crisp, clean and seafood-friendly.

On the top of my list was Hamilton Russell Winery, located in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley sub-region. This producer has been gotten some serious accolades from big American wine publications, and for good reason. 

Unfortunately, as we drove up we found that the tasting room was closed for renovations. Saddened, my wife and I drove a mile or so down the road to Southern Right Winery. I’d never heard of this producer, but, I’ll admit, I liked the name and their whale logo. Turns out, Southern Right is Hamilton Russell’s sister winery. The place was empty except for a young woman who was working in the winery office. She poured us some wines from the Hamilton Russell family line-up and talked with us about the region and the different wines. We got to taste Southern Right’s two bottlings, a pair of Hamilton Russells and two wines from another project called Ashbourne.

Here are my notes on the Hamilton Russell family of wines…

2013 Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc - South Africa, Walker Bay
Clean and floral on the nose with green melon and a spearmint note. Tangy and mineral-driven on the palate with some creamy feel from two months on the lees. Intense lime and green melon mixes with sea shells and all sorts of minerals. No green grass here, just pure fruit and waves of mineral goodness. (89 points)

2009 Hamilton Russell Ashbourne Sandstone - South Africa, Walker Bay
A bit of grass on the nose, some green pepper, white tea and saline. Quite fleshy on the palate, creamy body, but tingling acid. Interesting blend of flavors: mango, honey, white tea, sea salt, showing some beautiful aged characteristics but it’s still quite lively and I’d like to cellar it for a few more. A complex and lovely blend of 88% Sauvignon Blanc and 12% Chardonnay. (90 points)

2013 Hamilton Russell Chardonnay - South Africa, Walker Bay, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Deep, complex aromas of peach, flowers, slate, honey and minerals. So pure, clean and fleshy on the palate, with flavors of white peach, pear. lemon curd, apricot and green melon. Creamy but mineral-driven, so complex yet subtle and nuanced, with all sorts of tea and slate notes. Long, complex, verging on the profound. Wow, this is near-epic. I’d love to cellar this for two or three years, but I think it’ll improve for longer. This was my favorite wine of the entire trip, and I think it deserves much more time for contemplation. (94 points)

2013 Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir - South Africa, Walker Bay, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Bright ruby color. Smells of spice cake, roses, cherries, currants, as well as a blend of oregano, sage and spearmint. Basically, the nose is amazing. Fleshy red fruit on the palate, but so silky, pure and elegant as well. Fine tannins, tangy acid, effortless on the palate. The spice, anise, rose and mushroom notes are wonderful, and will only improve with age. A real beauty. (92 points)

2012 Southern Right Pinotage - South Africa, Walker Bay, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Dark ruby color. Dark berries on the nose, with coffee, pepper and roses. Smells elegant, not stinky. Tannins are bold, but the mouthfeel is velvety. Rich berry fruit and plum cake mixes with anise, coffee and spicy cedar notes. Lively but also shows some elegance. One of the better Pinotage wines I remember tasting, and it could get better with a few years. (90 points)

2008 Hamilton Russell Ashbourne - South Africa, Walker Bay
Aromas of soft berries, spice, roses, earth, some charcoal. Grippy tannins, fresh acid. Tangy blackberry and strawberry fruit blends with smoke, roses, pepper, oregano and leather tones. A finish with sweet plum cake and cola. Complex, very pretty and elegant, which is quite an achievement for a blend of 67% Pinotage and 33% Cabernet. I’d love to lay this down for another three years. (90 points)

I was smitten with these wines, so I snagged a few to stow away in my luggage. Overall, I was beyond impressed with the Hermanus wine route experience. It’s a place of uniquely stunning beauty. I could wax about it for hours, using all sorts of superlatives, but it wouldn’t do much good. It has to be experienced. 

Outside of Southern Right winery, the locals showed up to hang out. Baboons
are fascinating animals and I was stoked to be able to watch such a large troop

On the way out of the winery, my wife and I spotted a troop of about 40 baboons. We spent a good half-hour just watching and photographing them as they played around in a small field. I’ll remember that day for as long as my mind works.

If you’re ever in South Africa, heed these words: Visit Hermanus. Tour the wineries. Get on a boat and look for some whales. Bask in the bliss that you’re alive and privileged enough to be here. I’m going back again to do just that.

Cheers!

Pictures From My South African Wine Travels

The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Hamilton Russell were two of my favorite South African wines. Unfortunately, their tasting room was closed for renovations but I stopped by sister winery Southern Right and tasted through the whole family line-up.

Groot Constantia is located in the Cape Peninsula winegrowing region of Constantia. With False Bay to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and mountains all around, it's an incredible and diverse region with a lot of exciting wines.

Ashbourne (a Hamilton Russell project) produces a gorgeous white blend (Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay) and red (Pinotage/Cabernet Sauvignon) from the Hemel-En-Aarde Valley. Both are intriguing and age-worthy wines. 

This Ashbourne white blend was submerged in Walker Bay to age beneath the cold waves of the
Southern Cape. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a bottle home because I didn't want a customs headache.

Stark-Condé winery has one of the most beautiful tasting rooms I've ever seen. You sip their wines
on a little oasis in the middle of a pond. The surrounding mountains of the Jonkershoek Valley are stunning.

Take the vertigo-inducing Chapman's Peak Drive south down the Cape, and you'll arrive at Cape Point Vineyards. What a place!

The Hemel-en-Aarde-Valley is a striking place. The coastal influences can be smelled in the air and tasted in the elegant wines. 

Muratie Estate, located on the mountainous outskirts of Stellenbosch, is a history-rich winery with an Old World aesthetic.