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Chateau Beauchene
We're learning that growth isn't all it's cracked up to be. Friday, some very good customers emailed us, annoyed that we had run out of the 2007 Three Petite Sirah before they had a chance to order. While we've done everything possible to dig up bottles to satisfy their needs, we apologize to those who are disappointed. At the same time, if WineAccess Direct only considers offers in large supply, we're dumbing down and forgetting our objective. It's just the nature of fine wine; the best stuff is in limited supply.
Three
Back in the 1980s, the glory days for Zinfandel, three winemakers made most of the noise; Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards, Matt Cline of Cline Cellars and Joel Peterson of Ravenswood. There were really three things that distinguished the men and their wines. First they had a bloodhound's knack for discovering small, old vine vineyards. Second, they understood the importance of filling their cellars with excellent examples of other varieties. Last, they were brilliant assemblers, blending splashes of Mourvedre, Carignan and Petite Sirah into their Zins to magnify aromatics, provide punch and color.
Chateau Dutruch Grand Poujeaux
The commune of Moulis is situated about 15 kilometers northwest of Bordeaux. While not of the stature of the most celebrated communes of the Medoc -- Pauillac, Margaux, Graves and St. Julien -- the top wines from the gravel soil of Moulis have long been at the top of our Bordeaux Bargain List. The best, of course, are Chateaux Chasse Spleen and Poujeaux, the latter of which we began collecting when we first started drinking high quality Bordeaux 25 years ago. Occasionally, a few of us would drop money in a jar and pick up a bottle of Haut Brion, but we were loathe to drink these trophy wines given the price we paid. The Poujeaux, on the other hand, we consumed. From the late 1970s through the 1980s, this chateau's wine, with its mineral, slow-to-open character, was the highlight of hundreds of meals.
Murphy Vineyards
The 2005 Murphy Vineyards Syrah, drawn from a small parcel set at 2300 feet in elevation near Foresthill in the Sierra Foothills, carried the day at our tasting of under $20 reds. Deeply colored, rich, vibrant and decidedly not 'over-the-top,' it combined California intensity with Rhone-like freshness. Unfortunately, it was the only California red to land at the top of the heap. Despite the economic turndown, there's still little price relief when it comes to ferreting out fine California reds at everyday prices. So, what was the story behind this wine? Why so good? Why so cheap?
Domaine Grand Nicolet
With little relief from the dollar, and mounting demand on the world market, prices for top, small estate Chateauneuf du Pape are skyrocketing. We've spent the last few weeks looking for Chateauneuf look-alikes, wines made in neighboring appellations from old vine Grenache that have the same richness, density and explosive fruit characteristics -- without the $40+ price tag.
Thorn-Clarke
Twenty years ago, Australia's Barossa Valley was nothing more than an afterthought. But, beginning in the 1980s, a small handful of winegrowers invested heavily, determined to make a Shiraz imprint on the world market. By the late 1990s, the world wine press, led by Robert Parker and Aussie writers like Jeremy Oliver, began paying close attention to the work of Greenock Creek, Torbreck and David and Cheryl Clarke's Thorn-Clarke. Suddenly, the market for these lush, sometimes astonishingly vibrant Shiraz exploded, seemingly expanding from New York to Tokyo overnight.
Benoni
We like to roll the dice from time to time. But, in 2006, at dinner with Michael Havens in Yountville, we felt like we were counting cards. Michael is one of the true visionaries of the Napa Valley, the first winegrower to realize that the southern part of the valley, with its cooling breezes, was remarkably well-suited to growing Bordeaux varieties and Syrah. He had spent a couple of decades not only identifying the best vineyards, but the best parcels within the vineyards. Over dinner, we hatched a plan.
St. Lukes Estates
We were in a winemaker's cellar in Sancerre when we first tasted St. Lukes. Ten of us were participating in a blind tasting featuring 15 Sauvignon Blancs, mostly from top producers of Sancerre and Pouilly Fume. The wines were all neatly robed in linen. The glassware was Riedel (big ones). We tried to stay away from the fresh goat cheese, but it was no use. That stuff is just too good with world class Sauvignon Blanc.
Dr. H. Thanisch Muller Burggraef
We had packed t-shirts and shorts, a single sweatshirt. But we really needed a parka or two. After the unseasonably warm spring in Northern Europe, things had turned cold and nasty. Our trip to Bordeaux left us shaking our heads, wondering how the French press was going to explain away the mildew that was ravaging the vines. But while much was written about the near catastrophe in Bordeaux, little has been said about the 2007 vintage in Germany, where that bitter summer gave birth to some of the most glorious Rieslings in memory.