A 2002 Red Burgundy

Ten years from vintage is a good time to taste red Burgundy. Obviously different vintages show differently, buy it seems that ten years of age will provide a good amount of insight into a the character and personality of a red Burgundy.

Well, it was a rainy day and I needed to do some writing, so I figured I'd pop a 2002 Burg and see what was going on...

I don't have a ton of experience with the 2002 vintage of red Burgundy, but I do remember tasting a lot of them when they first came out. I was just 21, and The Man finally allowed me to legally purchase wine, when some 2002s were still sitting on the shelves. I went to a lot of retailer tastings and tastings with more experience Burg-heads, and I was taken by the mystique of 2002 red Burgundy. I didn't have much money at the time (nor do I now), so I didn't buy many bottles, but the 2002 vintage has a place in my heart.

So yesterday I opened a 2002 Domaine Arnoux Pére et Fils Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Peuillets.

It was clear cherry colored in the glass, with just a bit of brick around the rims. It took at least an hour for the savory aromas of red meat, dried roses and damp earth to come out. Then - wait, what’s this? Some sweet cherries? - Yes, some fresh fruit. Just a hint of strawberries as well. Even after four hours open, I could tell there was still a lot of aromatic power that wasn't ready to come out. I’d love to revisit this wine again in five more years.

Initially, the palate sensation was similar to chewing on grape stems: dark, gritty and green. It smoothed out with two hours+ and the tannins focused. Over the course of a few hours in the decanter the wine completely changed to show soft cherries, chewing tobacco, and cranberry flavors. This is definitely a more traditional Burgundy, with strong acid, dusty-firm tannins, and a finish of beef broth and savory spices.

89 points IJB

I think I need to drink more 2002 red Burgundy. If you've had one, I'd love to hear your impressions.

Pass the Pickle Juice: Notes on a 1983 Napa Cabernet

I was born in 1983, and I have enjoyed  several wines from that year. The best, by far, was a 1983 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet from Napa: subtle yet complex, mature yet still vibrant. Considering my luck with that wine, this week I figured I’d try my luck by popping a 1983 Inglenook Napa Cabernet “Reunion Reserve Cask.” 

This bottle was belligerent from the start. My friend Bob tried to get the cork out with a waiter’s friend screw, only to destroy half of the cork in the process. I tried my hand at it, and managed to mangle a bit more of the wet, crumbly cork. We didn’t have an ah-so opener, so I used a grilling fork and tried to finagle it out of there. It didn't work and I almost stabbed myself. We ended up having to filter the wine out before we could get it in our glasses.

After all that work, the wine ended up the way I fear I may end up some day: tired, old and weird.

It was a cherry-auburn color in the glass. Initially it had a strange combination of sage, mushroom and white raisin aromas. A hint of nighttime cough medicine came out as well. The palate showed faded tannins, tired fruit and a mélange of bizarre flavors: sour cherries, pickle juice (seriously, dead ringer for pickle juice, like straight from the jar), leather and animal musk. There’s a hint of sweetness on the finish, like someone added sugar to that pickle juice.

Bob “liked” it, and I admit that I did too, but I feel the need to add this disclaimer: we’re both strange dudes. We finished maybe half of the bottle between us. (We’re strange, not insane.) I’d say this wine was at least 10-15 years past its peak, but then again I have no idea how good it was back in the day. Hell, I was drinking boobie juice at the time.  

Having said all of this, I can never get too furious when an older wine like this shows poorly. It’s all part of the wine game. You win some, you lose some. And sometimes you end up stinking of leather and pickle juice.

Score? Beats me.

2004 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvée du Quet"

2004 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvée du Quet" (France, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

I picked this baby up on Winebid.com for $25, which turned out to be a screaming deal considering the quality of the wine. The Cuvee du Quet is Mas de Boislauzon's high-end cuvee, and the fruit is sourced from a single vineyard on higher elevation rocky plateau.

The wine is a clear ruby color in the glass, showing the beginning signs brick color that come with age. Right out of the bottle this wine has a pungent mushroom aroma. At first that wet earth and mushroom was all I could smell, but with some air the wine started to sing with cherry, currant and dried roses. The palate starts off with grainy tannins, followed by powerful flavors of cassis and diced green peppers. Complexity is this wine's game, following with flavors of sour cherry, chewing tobacco and beef broth. After being opened for two hours, the flavors of beef broth and mushroom really come out in full. Those grainy tannins don’t ease up one  bit, they just keep going, providing a granite-like structure to the wine.

The complexity of this wine really evolved over four hours, which makes me think this wine should sleep for a few years to let those nuances develop.

Unfortunately, I only bought one bottle. Damn!

92 points IJB

Merry Edwards and the Pleasures of Russian River Pinot

Merry Edwards is a fascinating woman, and the festively bad-ass way she spells her name is just the beginning. Merry Edwards has been making wine in the Russian River Valley since the mid-1970s, when Sonoma wines were unknown to the world and even to most Americans. She made wines under a variety of labels, and I was interested to learn that one of her first winemaking mentors was Joseph Swan, whose nearby boutique winery I had visited just before Merry Edwards. (I wrote about Joseph Swan Vineyards here.) Merry is a true trailblazer, a woman who has been busting down gender barriers for decades, all the while gaining a ridiculous amount of winemaking experience and an encyclopedic knowledge of the Russian River Valley.

2006 saw the opening of the new Merry Edwards Winery. The place is a Bacchus-send for Sonoma wine tourists. The winery sits next to the Coopersmith vineyard in a beautiful corner of the Russian River Valley near Sebastopal. Unlike most wineries that are home to one (or more) dogs, Merry Edwards is a place for cat-lovers. When I arrived on a cool March afternoon I saw one cat sprawled out near the foot of a vine and another begging strangers for belly-rubs on a wooden bench. Before I even entered the winery, my olfactory system was primed by the rich, loamy smell of mushrooms wafting down from a neighboring mushroom nursery-of-sorts.

The winery's interior combines modern design with old-fashioned wooden simplicity. It boasts several private tasting rooms designed to handle groups of visitors. An employee welcomed our group of four to a private room. He was helpful, down-to-earth and full of information about the region's history. 

Okay, the wines...

Merry Edwards is known mostly for her single-vineyard pinot noirs, although she has become quite the evangelist for the sauvignon blanc grape. Her pinot noirs display a bold and bombastic style, which was quite a shift from the relatively leaner wines I'd tasted at Copain and Joseph Swan. Merry Edwards' pinots are full of fruit and plush tannins, but they also express a lot of personality and elegance. Give me any one of these wines on any day of the week, and I'd be honored to sip and enjoy it. 

Note: All of the wines I tasted in this report are sourced from grapes in the Russian River Valley appellation.

2009 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - Merry Edwards blends pinot noir grapes from several RRV vineyards to make this bottling: Klopp Ranch, Meredith Estate, Coopersmith and Olivet Lane vineyards. This is not some hastily-thrown together regional blend, but a hand-crafted wine with real personality. Vibrant purple color in the glass. Rich cherry on the nose as well as freshly-baked strawberry pie filling. The palate is smooth and jammy, but the wine maintains an elegant mouthfeel. A distinct cinnamon flavor accents the rich cherry fruit, and the finish shows a taste of integrated oak. Silky, pure and elegant with a long finish. (91 points)

2009 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Georganne - Gorgeous bright purple color. Aromas of carmelized sugar and fresh blackberries. On the palate this wine is jammier than the 2009 Russian River pinot noir, with cherry pie and mocha flavors. Silky tannins support the rich, unctuous fruit. Lovely, but very rich indeed. For fans of full-throttle pinots (or for fans of California fruit bomb syrahs, for that matter) this wine is for you. (90 points)

2009 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Meredith Estate - This is what I look for in a big Russian River pinot noir. The aromas are sweeter and darker than any of the other pinots in the tasting, very much reminiscent of blackberries, cherry fountain soda and mocha. Dense tannins and firm fruit provide grip on the palate, much more so than the Georganne vineyard. Gushing flavors of mocha-accented raisins, black cherry and boysenberry blend with spicy pepper for complexity. For this style, this wine nails it. Simply delicious. I imagine a few years in the bottle would do this big girl some good. (92 points)

2009 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Klopp Ranch - Another great big pinot from Merry Edwards. The nose on this shows that classic Russian River black cherry, but also a unique mix of cranberry and rhubarb. The palate is both silky and dense at the same time. Pure, lush currant and black cherry fruit flavors, along with peanut shell and cocoa powder. The finish is soft, showing black pepper, baking spices and forest underbrush. This was a big hit with the tasting group and I'm sure it would please any crowd. Several years in the cellar could do wonders for this baby, as I'm positive it has some serious complexity that needs unpacking. (92 points)

2010 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc - Among a plethora of wonderful Sonoma County pinots, syrahs and chardonnays I tasted over the course of my trip, this wine still stood out and demanded my attention. This and past vintages of this sauvignon blanc have received gobs of praise from all the big shots, which, I confess, made me a bit skeptical. Was it all hype? All that skepticism was assuaged when I took the first sniff. The aromas are superb: white flowers, white peach, chives and jalapeno peppers. Creamy on the palate, showing white peach, honey and honeydew melon, along with a distinct flavor of freshly chopped chives. It's complex as hell, and a medley of flavor carries long onto the finish. Unlike many sauvignon blancs that sit in stainless steel tanks, this wine is fermented in seasoned French oak, 18 percent of which is new. This process adds creaminess to the wine and gives it a toasted peanut flavor. I'm not usually a fan of oaked sauvignon blancs, but I was really impressed by how the oak was integrated into a balanced and beautiful wine. Acid lingers on the finish, leaving the palate refreshed. My girlfriend and I both swooned over this bottle, and she declared it wine of the trip. I gave it an unabashed and completely subjective (94 points) 

I can't say enough about the quality of these wines and the tasting experience. In a region filled with beautiful tasting rooms and great wines, Merry Edwards stands out among the top. And, hey, it's open seven days a week!

Forget Napa, head here instead.

Cheers!

2006 Kenneth Volk Sierra Madre Vineyard Chardonnay

I drink more chardonnay than any other wine. It's true, and it has been for three years+ now. I don't know what my problem is. The grape is just so damn versatile, its range of flavors and sensations so broad. Between regions like Chablis, Burgundy, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, the Jura, the Loire Valley.... there are enough chardonnays to last ten lifetimes. And I'm not even getting into Chile, Argentina, Australia and South Africa, all of which produce world-class chardonnay.

Well, tonight my chardonnay-loving palate is focusing on a 2006 Kenneth Volk Sierra Madre Vineyard Chardonnay (California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley).

This Central Coast California chardonnay is bold yellow colored with thick streaming legs in the glass. It has a lush, full nose of green pear and honeysuckle, with an underlying lemon cream pie aroma. Over time, more roasted peanuts came out on the nose.

On the palate, this is big and boisterous. It definitely falls on the right wing of my chardonnay spectrum. There's a thickness on the palate, like someone blended whipped butter and lemon rinds together and stirred it with a charred oak stave. There’s a flavor like a combination of green pear and toasted marshmallow, leaving a bit of sweetness on the palate to linger with the creamy oak. Believe it or not, this warm-climate, Central Coast chardonnay actually has some goddamn acidity! I love and require acid in my chardonnays, but at the same time I do like that creaminess, and I’m open to oak influences. This wine really rides that line of maintaining balance while showing some of those classic California traits.

Look, this wine is what it is. Yet, despite its viscosity and bold flavors, it’s not out of whack. At least, not to my palate.

89 points IJB

Falanghina: A Southern Italian White Shines

Feudi di San Gregorio has long been making some of Campania's best wines. The home of Naples, this region is located on the lower shin bone on the Italian boot, and it's the source of some spectacularly unique and hard-to-pronounce wines. I'm drinking such a wine now. The 2003 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina Sannio (Italy, Campania, Sannio). It's made from 100% falanghina — [FA-lan-GHEE-nah] — an ancient indigenous white grape, in the Sannio appellation.

At nine years old, this white wine is showing beautifully. It’s the color of marmalade and apple juice in the glass, with thick, syrupy legs. The aromas change their focus with oxygen and time in the glass, shifting from lanolin, lemon candle wax and honeysuckle to green melon and banana peel. 


Upon first sip, this wine feels thick and powerful. The thickness and density of this white would surprise a lot of people, pleasantly so, I’d wager. But the acid slides in a few seconds later — another surprise — and it begins to feel like you’ve just sucked on a fresh lemon. There’s some serious minerality in this wine as well, like that shot of lemon juice was poured onto a fresh oyster. Combined with that flavor and sensation, hints of peanut shell and toffee carry onto the finish.


Apparently this bottle made the Wine Spectator's Top 100 list back in 2004, albeit 96th place. It's aged very well since then, and I'd give it 88 points. This wine makes me wish I was sitting at some Mediterranean bistro eating Southern Italian squid or clams.