decanted

californication

Geez, would somebody please make up his mind? For the better part of the past year, we've been sharing our experience of drinking our way through different countries, by way of their grapes. A kind of around-the-world-in-as-long-as-it-takes...with a buzz. If you've been with us from the beginning, you might remember Tim's initial prejudice towards California reds. (Meghan may or may not have held similar preconceived notions, but elects to, more often than not, play good cop.)

But our trip to Sonoma last year, while not totally dispelling his bigotry, was eye-opening in that it let us discover some smaller wineries that take an artisan approach to their craft. These wines are almost always going to carry big fruit flavors. We learned that it's possible, however, with the right touch, to balance them out with depth and acidity in order to make a more elegant product. So some might think of us as being indecisive about Cali reds or others might just claim, "You lie!" We like to think we have increasingly fluid ideas about wine.

While the Lynmar Estate Pinot Noir we had last October was a good start, the 2002 Hanzell Vineyards Pinot Noir we drank the other night upped the ante for both California Pinot in general, and Sonoma Valley more specifically. This was by no means a perfect wine, but a terrific example of not overextending one's assets. That is to say, ripe fruit was abundant, but because of the care taken in making this wine, layers of herbs, stone and acidity mix to form a lovely, soft, balanced wine. The current release (2006) is priced at $95--without having tasted it, it's hard to comment, but let's just say the price for this vintage (about $70 online) is just about right. We rate this an 8.5 out of 10.

we ♥ oregon...

...Oregon wines, that is. More than any other American Pinots, they're a step in the direction of Burgundy, the godfather of the Pinot-producing regions. And they can be a lot easier on the old wallet.

Our go-to Oregon Pinot is the 2007 Adelsheim Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. It's done in the classic Willamette Valley style, which nicely balances fruitiness and acidity. The tart cherry flavor is bright and pronounced, but it doesn't hit you over the head with its cherriness. This sounds weird, but the Adelsheim almost has its own personality-- you can tell someone puts a lot of care and time into making it.

We like to drink it with chicken and some fish (salmon, for example. Although cooked salmon is one of Tim's least favorite foods, but we don't need to get into that here.) It doesn't have a superlong finish, but at $27 we're okay with that. While there are no sudden flavor spikes, it does change on the tongue throughout a single sip, but in a very subtle way.

This is the lowest-end of Adelshiem's Pinot Noirs, and the others are definitely worth checking out. But this wine is a great bargain. We give it an 8.0 out of 10.

getting soft

At the risk of sounding sexist, Tim called this 2005 Clos Salomon Givry 1er Cru "a very feminine wine." (Meghan was not offended.) It has a soft, almost velvety texture--no rough edges. If you don't like your reds earthy, tannic, acidic, or alcoholic, this wine is for you.

Made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes, the Clos Salomon comes from the Côte Chalonnaise region of Burgundy--a good place to go bargain-hunting. At its $30 price point, it doesn't have the interesting and complex fruit notes that more expensive Burgundies are known for. (By the way, the "feminine" analogy officially ended after the first paragraph.) But its red currant and dark cherry flavors pleased our palates, and would probably please most others. It's kind of like the Slumdog Millionaire of wines.

Drink it before a meal or with chicken or other poultry. Probably not red meat. We conferred on how to rate it (gender-neutrally, of course) and came up with a 7.5 out of 10.

mendocino grille and wine bar

In these modern times, the idea of a "guys' night out" is somewhat different than what it was back in the day. While the idea of a classic beer and pizza night is somewhat appealing, even the manliest of the James Bonds can sit down and enjoy a bottle of white wine with a man friend (see Quantum of Solace).

As mentioned in a previous post, our good friend Barry Koslow is the Executive Chef of a 40-some seat restaurant in Georgetown called Mendocino Grille and Wine Bar. The place, one of our favorites, specializes in California wine and cuisine (kind of). At Tim's request, each of his three friends was charged with selecting a wine to bring to the restaurant one night last week. (There is, in our opinion, a certain protocol to taking wine to a restaurant, which we will discuss in a future post.)

We started with Luis Padilla's selection, a 2005 Guy Amiot et Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Demoiselles". We have enjoyed this wine previously and Tim was thrilled to drink it again. Subtle French oak, hints of vanilla, flinty minerality, peach, perfect balance and a mile-long finish make this $119.99 wine well worth the splurge. We try to shy away from guarantees, but whatever is a step under a guarantee of likability, that's how we feel about this Burgundian masterpiece made from 100% Chardonnay. It had enough finesse to match Barry's mussel "taste o' the sea" dish, but was also, as Luis pointed out, terrific with a slightly heartier branzino plate with glazed baby root vegetables. A 9.5 out of 10. 

Next up was Marek Rich's pick, a 1999 Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Charmes. Another outstanding selection from Burgundy, this wine is a great example of why Pinot Noir and terroir are so often mentioned in the same breath. Whatever your definition of terroir, this gentle but not delicate wine tasted of everything Tim could imagine going into the process of producing a good wine. Earth, leather, tobacco, cherry and bright acidity come to mind for this well-proportioned choice from Côte de Nuits. A great match for Barry's poussin with a cassoulet.  At $89.99 a bottle, we score this an 8.5 out of 10.

Matt Biel is about to become a dad for the first time, so we're not going to call his offering cheap. In fact, there were some merits to the 2003 Chateau Puy la Rose Pauillac he brought. With equal parts merlot and cabernet sauvignon and trace amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this garnet-colored wine had some of the qualities of a wine coming from this impressive appellation (the same as the legendary Chateau Lafite-Rothschild): a big backbone, impressive fruit and a long finish. But for whatever reason, all of the flavors of currant, cherry, cedar and leather got lost in its abundantly alcoholic finish. For $49.99, we could only muster a 5.5 out of 10.

To continue with our French-themed night at the California-themed restaurant (ask Barry if he's a French or California chef...), Tim chose a 1982 Chateau Branaire-Ducru Saint Julien. With mostly Cabernet, some Merlot and a touch of Petit Verdot, this Left Bank Bordeaux was the biggest disappointment of the evening. A good example of terroir from this region as opposed the aforementioned red Burgundy, this tannic reddish-orangeish wine had some beautiful subtleties, but sadly seemed past its prime. Instead of being a wonderfully open and structured aged wine, it seemed to fall apart at the edges despite its delicious, smooth fruit and spice. Barry sent out an incredible piece of beef with this--a Wagyu terres major (think of it as the hangar steak of the shoulder)--and while the pairing was theoretically good, the wine did not live up to the dish (or Tim's expectations).  $159.99 a bottle and a 6.5 out of 10.

Somewhere in the middle of this nine-course, four-bottle-plus-cocktails, gastronomic melee, Tim decided another course and another bottle was necessary. (Actually, he had thought of this possibility beforehand, but had the silly notion that if he brought an extra bottle, it might not be consumed.) And with that, the best pairing of the night was born. The 2002 Dal Forno Romano Valpolicella Superiore is made from Corvina, Rondinella and Croatina grapes and is one of the more robust wines Tim has ever tasted from this region. This is due in large part to the style in which it's made, using some dried Oseleta grapes, similar to those that go into its much richer cousin Amarone. We drank it with wild boar, tasting hints of smoke, spice, raisins and port. This smoothly tannic wine could be described as a powerhouse, but that doesn't do justice to its Brunello-like softness. A $129.99 bottle worth an 8.5 out of 10.

not quite ready

We must admit we have not tasted as many Spanish wines as French or American or even Italian wines. But this is what decanted is all about:  sharing new experiences and learning from them. At one of our favorite DC wine stores, Addy Bassin's MacArthur Beverages, we selected the 2003 Aalto Ribera del Duero from Spain's northern plateau. Like most red wines from this region, the Aalto is made from the Tempranillo grape. Due to similarities in taste and structure, many experts once believed that tempranillo was related to one of our favorites, Pinot Noir, only to be discredited by those pesky geneticists. It was because of these similarities that we were very excited to try this example of Tempranillo.

Oftentimes, however, high expectations can lead to greater disappointment. The Aalto was a deep purple-colored wine with a strong smoky nose. What we tasted was a very tightly wound, tannic, toasty wine that got reasonably better with aeration (exposing it to air over time), but never really came out of its shell. Perhaps a few more years would do this wine well, but for $54.99 we gave this wine a disappointing 5.5 out of 10.

sonoma (epilogue)

While we were out in California tasting wines with Kathleen Inman (see Sonoma post) we asked her who she thought was making the most Burgundy-like Pinot Noir in the area. She said Lynmar Estate, so once we got home to DC we picked up a bottle of the 2006 Lynmar Estate Russian River Valley Pinot Noir for $49.99.

Kathleen's advice was right on. This is an elegant, incredibly interesting wine. It begins very softly, then immediately opens up to a vibrant, almost effervescent sensation filled with flavors of cherry and bark. It finshes with a zing due in part to the high levels of acidity present. (Tim is a big, big fan of acidity, when applied judiciously.) The Lynmar's earthy mellowness gives it versatility. It could be paired with anything from fish to light game. Not steak, though--red meat is probably too rich for its comfort zone. We give this an 8.0 out of 10.

sonoma (part 2)

Our buddy Barry Koslow (Executive Chef of Mendocino Grille and Wine Bar) set us up with two unforgettable private tours.  We traveled over to Acorn Winery in Healdsburg to meet with Betsy & Bill Nachbaur (pictured to the right with Meghan in the middle). They showed us around their Alegria Vineyard and we marveled at the some 20 plus different types of grapes they were growing. Admittedly, these were not our favorite wines of the trip, but the vineyard is worth mentioning because of the informative and beautiful tour we were given.

From there, we drove about ten miles (top down in our rented red Mini Cooper Convertible) to Lauterbach Cellars. What can we say about Stew Lauterbach? First of all, for those of you who know Tim, you know about his unnatural obsession with the name Stu. Seriously, what's that all about.  To make things just a bit more confusing, he now believes that his rightful name should be spelled like the great Dr. Lauterbach. Something about the greatest human name in the world mixed with food.  But we digress. On to Stew. You know how Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak supposedly built the first Apple computer in a garage? Well, Stew does the same thing, only with wine. This spry 60-something part-time emergency room doctor crafts Pinot Noir and Syrah in the garage of his rustic, vineyard-covered property. On a stepstool, brandishing a wine thief (a device used to taste wine from the barrel) that may have doubled as a turkey baster, he vaulted among several 30-gallon barrels to nab us generous samples of his upcoming vintages. In all, we must have tasted over 15 selections and we were starting to feel it, especially Meghan, who is still not comfortable with public expectoration (spitting). At one point, Stew had us taste from four separate Syrah barrels which individually tasted anywhere from extremely tannic to highly sulfuric, but when blended together formed a pleasant wine.

sonoma

After gorging ourselves and drinking a ton, it was time to head across the bridge and north to Sonoma County to, well, gorge ourselves and drink a ton. We were there mainly to taste Pinot Noirs and we did find a few that were good if not great. Two private tours/tastings were set up by a friend of ours, Josh Miles (a sales rep at Martin Scott Wines). Josh, being a Burgundy specialist, knows a great deal about this particular grape, so we were very much looking forward to his recommendations.

First we drove to Windsor to meet with Kathleen Inman of Inman Family Wines.  Kathleen told us she thought the Russian River Valley was a great place to grow Pinot Noir and that she feels any Pinot-based wine needs a good amount of acidity to give it balance. Tim couldn't agree with her more about the acidity--some of the better Burgundies he has tasted have needed a good deal of acidity in order to balance out the wine and even contribute to its complexity. We tasted a Rosé, a Pinot Gris and two Pinot Noirs, eventually deciding to buy a bottle of 2006 Inman Family Thorn Road Ranch Pinot Noir. What we tasted was a lot of sour cherry and some other berry fruits along with some leather, but mostly just a very nice, fairly fruity, soft, balanced wine. At $52 a relatively good buy in our minds. In our book, worthy of a 6.0 out of 10.

Next up was Scherrer Winery in Sebastapol. Fred Scherrer gave us a grand tour of his wine making facility, fed us some delicious lamb burgers left over from an open house the day before and let us sample 10 or so different bottles. We were most impressed with his Rosé which unfortunately for us was sold out. Most of the wines we tasted were good not great, but we both felt Fred was very close to making terrific wines and we will keep him on our radar.

san francisco

So we decided to take a trip to California to see our good friend Greg Berman (see picture on left) and also so we could challenge Tim's deep-seated feeling that all Cali wines are crap. While we weren't convinced that the region is competitive with the best in the world (we'll get to those), we did debunk the aforementioned idea of poo. We still think Oregon is the best place for American Pinot Noir, but we discovered that the Russian River Valley is an acceptable alternative. In general, the fruit was bright and prevalant but not overextracted (overripened) like many of the Pinots from Carneros and Santa Barbara County.

But before we went to wine country, we needed to spend some time in San Francisco doing the things that help to make us who we are:  eating and drinking. We stopped at a little wine shop called Ruby Wine and picked up a bottle of 2007 Chateau Ducasse Bordeaux Blanc for $16.99 and a bottle of 2005 Regis Bouvier Gevrey-Chambertin for $69.99.

We drank some wine with Greg and his girlfriend Laura, watched the fog roll over the mountains to the area where he used to live and just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. The Chateau Ducasse was a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle grapes and was not particularly offensive or interesting. A very blah 5.0 out of 10 which was fine considering our mindsets (vacation).

Gevrey-Chambertin is one of our favorite places to find "bargains" in Burgundy. It's true that most great and even truly good Burgundies are ridiculously expensive and probably overpriced, but we have found some relatively decent values in this region. As with all red wines of Burgundy, it is 100% Pinot Noir and as with any good Burgundy, good fruit and good acidity to match. This was not a velvety soft wine, but had good balance and changed several times during each taste. A solid 6.5 out of 10.

Greg then took us over to A16 where his friend, Liza Shaw, made us a terrific meal and we got to know a very interesting 2003 Binomio Montepulciano d'Abruzzo for $70.00 (yours for about $45.00 in a wine store). A fairly robust and tannic wine, it definitely needed time to mellow and when it did, it was delightfully full and funky and chewy. A 7.0 out of 10 that we might have scored higher if we bought it in a store for $45.00.

wine

We really, really like wine. And, let's face it, we both like to hear our own voices. We started decanted as a place to think and talk about wine, and maybe even help a friend or two who is looking for suggestions or to join our conversation. We plan to mostly discuss wine, but will occasionally throw in some curveballs, such as thoughts on our other favorite things (various liquid refreshments, candy, random foods). We'll use a scale from 0-10 for wine and will take value into account. That is to say, a wine may be given a bump up if it is a bargain, but good wine is good wine, and price will not greatly affect the overall score.

So, you know when you go to the liquor/wine store and look around and you're thinking you want to get something nice but you don't know what to get. So you talk to somebody and they ask, "How much do you want to spend?" And you say, "I don't know, $25." Some random bottle of red or white or pink is picked out for you and you ask a series of follow up questions that are more often than not affirmed (i.e., "Will this go well with my lamb dish?", "I don't like my whites oaky. It's not too oaky, is it?", or for some of the newbies out there, "Sooo, this is good?"). Then you get home and you open the bottle and you taste it and think that the guy at the store must have been high or lying or both because the rotgut you're drinking tastes like the bastardly combo of Manischewitz and the box wine you drink at church.

Or perhaps you know a little bit more about wine. You've drank some in your time and might even be able to describe a wine if asked to--as long as you don't have to use words such as unctuous or precocious. If handed a wine list with no prior knowledge of what might be on the menu, you could safely land on a nice Sancerre or California Cab. You may have heard of Robert Parker and might even pay attention if you hear a wine nerd talking to a sommelier or knowledgeable salesperson.

Then there are those of you who really love wine and devote a little too much time (probably) and resources (definitely) to the pursuit of your addiction. You might have heard of Eric Asimov and may subscribe to one or more publications devoted to wine. You can usually tell the difference between a Grüner Veltliner and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and maybe even correctly choose which Pinot Noir is from California and which one is from Oregon. Receiving the wine list at a restaurant is a joy and you often feel that it is your duty to take on this daunting task in order to heighten the pleasure of your fellow diners (and yourself).

Whichever category you fall under, this blog is a good place for you to visit. Whether you want to learn more about certain varietals, discuss differences in vintages, compare tasting notes or simply get a good recommendation for your next visit to the store, check back often because we do drink our fair share of wine.