May 2011: Wine-amic Duos

May 12, 2011
Wine-amic Duos

A Cellargal* Wine Tasting
Inspired by the Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
by Michael Chabon

Joe Kavalier: Czech artist, upper-middle class, physically strong, educated, fighter...
Sam Clay: Brooklyn-born, working class, physically weak, self-made, conflicted, peacemaker...

Synergy, from the the Greek syn-ergos, meaning "working together," describes two or more things that function better together than apart at a given task or in a certain context. In the context of Chabon's novel, the protagonists Sam Clay and Joe Kavalier are able to acheive success as a result of their combined skills and efforts. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole...

In life, we experience synergy everywhere, from the workplace, where we may work as part of a team or our company may serve a function that supports a greater corporate whole, to our romantic life (after all, someone needs to be able to change the lighbulbs, put chains on tires, and take out the trash...) to the kitchen, where cooking is essentially our effort to allow the synergy that can exist between proteins, fats, vegetables, and starches yield something delicious to eat that is better than any one ingredient by itself. (Thankfully my husband completes me when it comes to matters in the kitchen).

In wine, synergy is also at play. While most wine-loving Americans are accustomed to single varietal wines (I'll have the Cab, please) and might suspect a blended wine to somehow be inferior to a single varietal, this is not the case in the classic old world winemaking regions of Europe. In the French regions of Champagne, Bordeaux, and the Rhone, blending traditions have evolved out of centuries of vintners figuring out what works best given the context of climate, soil type, and local culture.

By producing wines that are blends of different varietals, vintners are able to let the strengths of one varietal (say, structure and tannins) be balanced out by the strengths of another (say, suppleness and aromatics). If vinified separately, these varietal wines might be undrinkable. Blend them together, and you get the best of both.

The Great Wine-Amic Duos of France:

1. Pinot Noir & Chardonnay

Tradition in: Champagne
Why? Pinot provides structure and depth of fruit in the blend; Chardonnay adds weight, richness, and body for ageing.

Leclerc Briant Reserve Brut Champagne
70% Pinot Noir /30% Chardonnay

2. Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon

Tradition in: Bordeaux

Why? Semillon tends to fatness and has little aroma when young; Sauvignon Blanc is highly aromatic and high in acid but lacks substance.

2008 Bonnet, Entre-Deux-Mers Blanc
50%, Sauvignon Blanc, 40%, Sémillon, [+10% Muscadelle]

3. Syrah & Viogner

Tradition in: Northern Rhone/Cote Rotie

Why? Syrah can be very dark and brooding when young; Viognier adds floral aromatics, enhances the texture and viscosity to the wine, and deepens and stabilizes color.

2007 J. Boutin "Bonnevaux" Côte-Rôtie (Stéphane Vedeau)

88% Syrah and 12% Viognier; cofermented. (Cofermentation= the simultaneous fermentation of two or more varieties in the same vessel.)


4. Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot

Tradition in: Bordeaux

Why? Cabernet Sauvignon has great potential for structure and to be a vehicle of expressing vintage and terrior attributes but can be difficult to ripen and is very tannic when young. Merlot is ripens early and yields plump, lush fruit; it softens and Cabs edges and adds fruitiness to the wine in youth.

2006 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge, Pessac-Léognan
63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot [and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc]

**
"When men drink, then they are rich and successful and win lawsuits and are happy and help their friends. Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever."

-Aristophanes c. 450 - 385 B.Knights [424 B.C.], l. 92

A 101 Point Wine? Can It Be?

As reported today on The Underground Wine Letter by wine collector and expert John Tilson:

"Well, it was bound to happen. In fact, I have been predicting it for years. And now it looks like that day is about to arrive. This should be music to the ears of all the folks who drink numbers. They have dreamed, lusted, and drooled for something beyond the 100 point wines that, in recent years, have been cropping up like wild flowers and weeds after a spring rain. This is, to my knowledge, the first wine ever anointed with a score above 100. I do not know all the facts, but here is what I know.

Apparently the wine was pre-released to only one critic for tasting. (I am sorry. I cannot divulge the name, but you may be able to guess). And back came a 101 point score. I am told that the announcement of this first ever phenomenon will come as early as today. And, it is expected to rock the world. So make sure you are in a safe place. But, if you are, and if you are even thinking this is good for you, not so fast folks. It looks like the deal is already locked up.

You see, the announcement will be made simultaneously by the wine reviewer and the winery that produced the wine. The wine reviewer’s announcement will only go to subscribers of the publication’s extra cost exclusive pre-release list (they get advance notice of all the big numbers). The winery’s announcement will only go out to people in their Platinum Club (these are folks who have paid $1000 to join and who have purchased at least 100 bottles of wine at $$300 per bottle or more in the past year). And a few select unnamed 100 point wine reviewers with at least 1000 100 point wines to their credit will also receive the wine....Read the full article here:

http://www.undergroundwineletter.com/2011/03/underground-wine-line-here-at-last-%e2%80%93-beyond-100-points-%e2%80%93-nirvana/

poisson d’avril

April Fool's!

[Seriously, for all you current and would-be serious collectors out there, The Underground Wine Letter is worth checking out].

2009 & 2010 Bordeaux Vintage Reports

This is for the men. (Or man)

Ryan, since you asked...

The Bill Blatch Preliminary Bordeaux Vintage Report is the "Bible" of Bordeaux. In the words of Jancis Robinson, Bordeaux negociant Bill Blatch (Vintex S. A.) is "arguably the single most informative Bordeaux wine merchant." Released annually just before the UGC tasting week in Bordeaux, this is a play-by-play report of the entire vintage, from just after harvest of the previous vintage, through dormancy and pruning, then the growing cycle , and on through vinification (basically, the year in question plus a few months on either side). Blatch's conclusions, comparisons, and general declarations about the vintage set the tone for UGC Week and the dominoe effect of buzz, scores, and speculation that fuels en primeur (future) sales while keeping prices of the fine wines of Bordeaux at all levels as high as possible for the times.

Here's a link to the 2 most recent reports: 2009 and 2010. 2009 futures are on available for purchase now. 2010 pricing will be announced following the UGC tastings this month. It will be smart to invest in 2009 futures, as many are still available and due the economic woes you can get great 2nd thru 5th growths at decent prices. The wines will not only age well but likely increase in value as they do.

However, looks like 2010 is shaping up to be an interesing vintage as well....how many vintages of the century have we had in Bordeaux so far? 4? hah.

Anyway, these reports are interesting and worth reading/consulting if you are interested in the Bordeaux trade:
2009: "The first decade of the 21st century goes out in a blaze of glory"
2010: "An embarrassingly good vintage"

http://www.vintex.fr/

"You need not hang up the ivy branch over the wine that will sell. —Publius Syrius (c. 43 BC)Maxim 968

Special Topics in Calamity Phenolics

A Cellargal* Wine Pairing

Inspired by the Novel

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

by Marisha Pessl

Image 1.0.

March 24, 2011 Tasting Syllabus

(see Map 1)

2008 Pheasant's Tears Rkatsiteli Republic of Georgia (Former Soviet Union) (4)

2009 Pfneiszl Kékfrankos Sopron (Blaufrankisch) (Hungary) (5)

2008 Antonelli Contrario Sagrantino (Sicily, Italy) (6)

2006 Domaine Berthoumieu "Charles de Batz" Madiran (SW France) (7)

2008 Henry of Pelham Baco Noir (Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada) (8)

Map 1

Notes on the subject:

In wine-speak, the term phenolics, (sometimes called polyphenolics or polyphenols) refers to the very large group of highly reactive chemical compounds of which phenol (C6H5OH) (1) is the basic building block. Phenolic acids are largely present in the pulp, anthocyanins and stilbenes in the skin, and other phenols (catechins, proanthocyanidins and flavonols) in the skin and the seeds. (2) These collectively produce the skin colors, tannins, and flavors of grapes that, when made into wine, determine its properties (what we see, smell, and taste) (2) as well as any health benefits that might be associated with consumption. They are also at the root of the changes [see Image 1.0 top] that take place in a wine as it ages. (3)

Additional Notes and References

(1) Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5OH. It is a white, crystalline solid at room temperature. It consists of a phenyl (-C6H5) group, bonded to a hydroxyl (-OH) group. It is produced on a large scale (about 7 billion kg/year) as a precursor to many materials and useful compounds.[2] It is only mildly acidic but requires careful handling due to its toxicity and its propensity to cause severe burns. See: Wikipedia.

(2) See Wikipedia: Phenolic compounds in wine

(3) Robinson, Jancis. "Phenolics," The Oxford Companion to Wine; 3rd Ed. pp 517-518).

(4) White wines contain phenols too. Just not as much, generally. Red wines are credited for containing significantly higher amounts of the heart-healthy resveratrol (a natural phenol present in the skins, seeds, and stems of grapes) than white wines because red wines are fermented in contact with the skins (thus adding pigment and tannin and the phenols that come with them) and white wines are not. This Rkatsiteli is an example of what wine geeks call "orange wine" - a white wine that takes on color and tannin due to prolonged exposure contact with the skins and extended ageing on the lees. Pheasant's Tears follows the ancient Georgian tradition of ageing the wines underground in beeswax-lined clay amphorae, which permits the development of very distinctive flavor and textural characteristics.

(5) Why Blaufrankisch? Blaufränkisch (German for blue "Frankish") is a dark-skinned variety of grape that produces red wines with high phenolic content. (see wikipedia: Blaufrankisch). Blue is the name of the main character in Special Topics in Calamity Physics. “My mother decided to call me Blue, because for her first year of Lepidoptera study with the Southern Belles’ Association of Butterflies, with its Tuesday night meetings at the first Baptist Church…the Cassius Blue was the only butterfly Natasha could catch (see Leptotes cassius,” Butterfly Dictionary, Meld, 2001 ed.).”

(6) Ah, Sagrantino. People discover and fall in love with it when they travel to Sicily, and then come back and drive around in their blue volvo looking for it, nowhere to be found. Well, this is because most of it isn't that great (sorry, Sagrantino!) and because what does make it stateside is often the bulk-produced junk for export, relying on resveratrol and the promise of health (famously high in polyphenols, Sagrantino is credited for playing a key role in the abnormally long average life expectancy of Sicilians) for sales rather than actual quality, which just don't cut it at respectable wine merchants. The 08 Antonelli Contrario happens to be a good one, though.

(7) Tannat is a thick-skinned red grape native to Southwest France. Madiran AOC is the most significant appellation in France for the production of Tannat and Tannat-based wines. Tannat is known for it's high tannins and tendency towards bitterness and astringency. Efforts to tame Tannat and produce more drinker-friendly (and by extension Parker-friendly) wines led to the development of the controversial (see the movie MONDOVINO for an indie filmmaker's insight into this controversey) technique of micro-oxygenation. Tannat cuttings were brought to Uruguay by French immigrants in the 1800s, and since then have faired well in quasi maritime climate in the hills north of the resort city of Montevideo. After all, who wouldn't?

(8) Baco Noir is what we call a hybrid grape varietal - a cross between two varietals from different species of the the vitis (grape) family. It is a cross of the French Folle Blanche (Vitis Vinifera; native to Europe) and an unknown variety of vitis riparia (native to North America). Over time, native American grapes had to develop resistant to the predatory phylloxera beetle, also native American, in order to survive as a species, a slow, evolutionary process that included the development of phenolically dense, protective skins and root-stalks. We have American root stalks to thank for still being able to enjoy (the superior) wines made from vinifera vareitals today...once the phylloxera beetle landed on European vineyards in the nineteenth century (see Phylloxera Plague), it nearly wiped out the entire industry in a matter of years. Only by grafting vinifera vines onto riparia rootstalks were the Eurpeans able to replant and recover.