Schiava Is Good

This heartwarming wine from Bolzano in the South Tyrol is made by Heinrich and Elda Mayr from their small parcel of old Schiava vines. It's a bit Burgundian, but perhaps more reminiscent of a full-bodied Morgon, with a sweeter fragrance, as well as  brighter and more spicy in flavor.

I brought a bottle of this 2009 Elda Rosso with me recently to the Sardinian restaurant La Ciccia and it was friendly with almost every dish I ordered. But it was most insane with the baby octopus stew with the mild, pulsing heat of the pepperoncino calabrese of the tomato sauce. I was happy drinking a full, luscious Vermentino di Sardegna with it, yet the Schiava was a revelation. Another delicious aspect of the dish would have escaped me were it not for this brilliant wine.

April Recap... plus the usual drivel

I thought I'd take time to shamelessly promote what our modest little wine shop has forced upon you during this past month of April. Hard to believe that a full third of the year is already history.

Here are but a handful of items worthy of note:

• A quick trip to Jura and Burgundy confirmed as always the greatness of producers we love. In Burgundy that would be Michel Lafarge, Frederic Mugnier, Ghislaine Barthod, Jean-Marie Fourrier, Christophe Perrot-Minot, Leroy, Thierry Matrot, Nicolas Rossignol, and really much more.

• But then for ardent Burgundy fans you really don't need me to tell you these venerable names. Our claim to fame is knowing equally brilliant producers that are unheralded, yet whose wines are worthy rivals to the best of them. And so last month I've brought to your attention Denis Jeandeau, Chateau de Beru, Meix Foulot, Pierre Gelin, Montchovet, Francois Feuillet/David Duband, Marc Roy, Lou Dumont, Harmand-Geoffory. From one long-time Burgundy nut to another, if you fancy yourself a true Burgundy fan, you would at least try these wines and see for yourself why I'm so bullish and why you don't have to always spend a gazillion bucks for great Burgundy.

• In Jura, I continue to scour this strange but beautiful frontier, which I liken to  Middle Earth, for some of the most wonderful wine discoveries of this century. Why this ancient winegrowing region has escaped many of us is puzzling. One thing to know about the Jura is that it has one of the most powerful terroirs known to man. Yes. The wines are intense and complex, though seemingly light and modest in alcohol. Nearly all wines are capable of aging for decades, even centuries. Why just the other day Decanter announced a 240 year-old Vin Jaune up for auction! We stock the greatest producers in Jura like Jacques Puffeney, Michel Gahier, Domaine Montbourgeau, Philippe Bornard, and Domaine de la Tournelle. And we are the only wine store in the West Coast to sell Domaine de l'Octavin and Jean-Marc Brignot!

• From our California backyard we offered some of our greatest finds recently. For example, we recently offered the debut vintage of Los Pilares from San Diego County (yes, that San Diego) and it sold out within a day or two, and it's not even a Cab or Pinot! Other terrific California producers we touted include: Donkey and Goat, A Tribute to Grace, Anglim, La Clarine Farm, Peay/Cep, Qupe, and Grant Eddie.

• Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, and Mourvedre grow terrific in California's more Mediterranean terroirs and so I've been in hot pursuit of California wines other than Cabs or Pinots. Even the San Francisco Chronicle acknowledged our enthusiasm by inviting me to return to their tasting panel for its all-important Grenache report last February.

• Of course, we can't resist bringing awesome Cabs and Pinots, particularly those from small producers making balanced wines at reasonable prices. Some of our favorites offered in the last month or so include Corison, Leviathan, Fisticuffs, Banshee, Dominus Napanook, and Georg Rafael--elusive California wines to find.

• If you're in the neighborhood then our weekend tastings are for you. We always pour our new wine discoveries. Keep on discovering new tastes and flavors, that's the best thing about wine.

• To this end we always love to host wine dinners. Last month we held a wine dinner at a local eatery featuring the fantastic wines of the Northern Rhone. An event that sold out in just two days! We poured 8 different wines from the region's best producers like J.L. Chave, Yves Cuilleron, Georges Vernay, Emmanuel Darnaud, Pierre Gonon, Franck Balthazar, and Stephane Ogier.

• I'm delighted to report there's a lot to look forward to again this month. We've already received a ton of new wines and I can't wait to offer them to you! Plus, of course pre-arrivals of gems that are coming soon.

It may take a little while for me to write up about these exciting new wines but you'll know about them in the coming days. Vineyard Gate is not run by an army of staff, it's strictly a two-person outfit, Amy--my wife--and I.

Almost everyday we meet with local producers, distributors, and importers to taste, discover, and discuss about new wines. And we somehow find the time to parachute down Europe's vineyards once or twice a year. I feel that the only way to be honest and sincere about wines we recommend to you is to know them first-hand.

Thank you all for your continuing support. My only request is for you to help us spread the good news about Vineyard Gate! Please tell your fellow wine friends about us.

Elegant Burgundies of Maison Lou Dumont

Maison Lou Dumont. Curious name for a Burgundy negoce based in Gevrey. Headed by Koji Nakada, a former Tokyo somm, and his Korean wife, Jae Hwa Park. Both studied at CFPPA in Beaune. They established Lou Dumont—Lou is their goddaughter, charming and with much character, and Dumont or “from the mountains” refers to where Koji and Jae Hwa grew up—in 2000.

Maison Lou Dumont’s range of 2009 Burgundies are some of the most elegant and firmest wines that I’ve tasted from this vintage. Closer to 2008 or 2010 in character. The style of the wines speaks of Koji’s natural and minimal winemaking approach. He doesn’t overwork the wines, doing little pump overs and punch downs and only vinifies with native yeasts. The wines are expressive and terroir-driven.

Lou Dumont first attracted attention several years ago when their 2003 Meursault was highlighted in the popular wine anime Kami no Shizuku or “Drops of God”. Since then their Burgundies have become a sensation among Burgundy fans in Japan and the UK but have never reached the US until now. Vineyard Gate is one of the first to sell these wines in the US.

Profundity From A Bottle

Over a hundred years ago in 1911 the RMS Titanic was completed and launched. Pancho Villa led the successful uprising during the Mexican Revolution. Sun Yat-sen was elected president of the newly founded Republic of China. The Encyclopaedia Britannica became an American publication. The first non-stop flight between London and Paris was made. While under US colonial rule, the University of the Philippines established the College of Law, the first English language law school in Asia.

And so amidst these interesting world events the 1911 Château Capbern-Gasqueton was born. Capbern is an ancient château like many in St. Estephe, which was apparently a haven for aristocrats. It has been with the Gasqueton family even before the French Revolution, well before they acquired their more famous classed growth estate, Calon-Segur, in 1894, as well as du Tertre in Margaux. I'm sure this makes Capbern one of the longest owned estates by the same ownership in Bordeaux, spanning over ten generations of Gasquetons.

Capbern's vineyards adjoin Calon-Segur on one portion and Château Meyney on another. The cepages back in 1911 consisted mainly of Cabernet Sauvignon, most likely at least 65% (as in neighboring Calon and Meyney) and the rest 20% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. In more modern times the Merlot increased to about 35%. At any rate, Capbern is obviously situated on an illustrious site.

Two days ago I helped polish off  a pristine bottle of 1911 Château Capbern-Gasqueton from an impeccable cellar.  The experience was monumental, very pleasurable, and humbling. The bottle's fill was up to the neck and the label clean and fully intact. For something as old as the Titanic it looked remarkably fresh.

Whether it's despite or because of being subjected to Ben's unmerciful decanting method (back and forth between two vessels 8 or 9 times) the liquid that came out of the bottle was so perfectly relaxed and cool. After being waken up from a hundred years of sleep it was ready to rock, and it knocked our socks off!

The nose was pure and clean, there was no old bottle earthy or medicinal funk. A youthful oak caramel is immediately discernible amidst the cassis, mineral, blood, and spice. The color has held well, a deep ruby in the center with a slight fading towards the edge. I found its rich, soft, fleshy very Cabernet flavors irresistible--loaded with acidity, and with fine tannins noticeable on the finish. It has the Cabernet elegance of Lafite.

 I love that it was not a complicated wine to drink. It was juicy, smooth, and deliciously balanced. I was almost chugging the wine unconsciously while sharing notes with the group. Soon I helped myself to another precious pour, as if it's everyday wine--and this is perhaps the best I can say about a wine that's beyond words to describe. I very much enjoyed the moment. The Dalai Lama would approve.

Loud and Fast Wins... Oh Yeah?!

Last night watching the reality faux singing competiton "The Voice" I can't help noticing the parallels with wine scoring. Loud, fast rocker Juliet Simms singing a shrieking "Roxanne" got a huge thumbs up from the judges. While relaxed, mellower acts performed by Tony Lucca ("Your Eyes") and Mathai ("Ordinary People") were passed over.

As in wine scoring--another competitive sport--explosive, melisma-heavy diva shrieking is lauded by the expert judges. But loungy, restrained, natural renditions get the ho-hum.

However, in the end we get to vote what we like, no one needs to follow what judges say. 

Rudy K's Quick Web Saga

When news broke late Thursday on the FBI bust of renowned billionaire wino, Rudy Kurniawan, it triggered an unprecedented flash reporting on the web. The establishment press, the wine media, and the elite wine bloggers and tweeters all piled on the story. It has been an exhilarating and fast-moving 36 hours, going from Rudy being nabbed to revelation of incriminating photographs of his wine counterfeiting operation in his L.A. apartment.

Rudy's arrest may just be the tip of this counterfeiting exposé. Insinuations are flying that the rise of U.S. auction houses--and their surpassing venerable U.K. rivals, Sotheby's and Christie's--has been partly fueled by fake wines sold by the likes of Rudy in a then celebrated, now possibly infamous, sale.

By the time the feverish web reporting finally subsided, the consensus was that Rudy's saga needs to be properly immortalized on film. Parallels with Mr. Ripley have been mentioned. Also, author Jay McInerney, who wrote the aforementioned piece on billionaire winos, tweeted that he will include that piece on his upcoming book The Juice. Jay might have another winner here since "Bright Lights, Big City",  and perhaps a movie deal for an expanded script.

It's said that Rudy favors silk shirts and big sunglasses. For some reason I envision this guy playing him:

BNO Year-End: Burgundies, Champagne, and Much More!

Santa came early to a gathering of wine friends, who humbly name themselves the BNO, aka "Boys' Night Out". Extravagance is not lacking in these gatherings, and sometimes extravaganza, too. Yet, last night's soirée set a new bar. Bottles of Champagne were popped, white Burgundies were poured, a couple of Yquems were emptied, and an obligatory bottle of Port got decapitated. Still, none of these were worthy enough to be the evening's highlight.

I arrived a bit late and so missed the Champagne toast, but I managed a mouth rinse of the 1990 Pommery Cuvée Louis just when dinner was getting started. A rich, yeasty wine that's evolved and quite elegant.



Among the white Burgundies were a pair of Corton-Charlemagne from Louis Latour, its well-known flagship wine. Except for the richer, fatter quality of the 1990, I thought the two overlapped in flavor. The wine's toasty, honeyed, tropical fruit character was more pronounced in the 1990 compared to the 1998.





Leflaive's 1997 Puligny Pucelles showed as always its magic and why, at least in the case of Leflaive, this premier cru vineyard should be classified grand cru. Intensely floral and smokey on the nose, with flavors that are reticent and angular, like a beam of light that multiples many times on the palate. A spectacular vintage for this wine.



The white Burgundy flight was beefed up in the last minute by the addition of a killer 2004 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. Vibrant with a youthful sexiness in its fat and luscious fruit.



To accompany the white Burgundies Eric prepared a salad designed to match, a melange of lettuce, avocado and seafood in a citrus dressing. The pairing was as slick as Eric in his tux.



The white Burgundies over, it was time to sneak in the evening's intermezzo, an interloper from the estuaries of the Garonne, a 1978 vintage of the unique dry wine called "Y" or "Ygrec" from one of the most famous wineries in the world, Château d'Yquem. As can be expected, coming from this great Sauternes producer, this is a rich, powerful wine. Toasty and full of honeycomb extract as well as peach, sweet corn, and ginger. An enormous presence in the room.



To tame this beast of a white wine a decadent serving (in my case, servings) of lobster quenelles was offered. I was delirious. I must've mumbled a prayer or something for the Lord to bring me back again to earth, and had to summon all my self-control to stop sipping more "Y" and chowing down more quenelles. Wow! This is the most hedonistic pairing experience ever! Kudos go to both Kevin and Steve for accidentally conspiring to produce this outta this world pairing!



And so finally, with all those preliminaries over, the highlight of the evening got started.



Having five different vintages of Grands Échezeaux spanning almost 40 years is on one hand an unforgettable pleasure and on the other a valuable lesson, especially given four out of the five are from the same producer, DRC. DRC owns more than a third of Grands Échezeaux, a large vineyard with varying nooks and crannies, as this flight showed.

The magnum of Grands Échezeaux in the flight was a 1959 Averys bottling, said to be made from juice purchased from Gustave Gros of Domaine Gros by the highly respected and celebrated Bristol wine merchant, Ronald Avery. Just before our event, this provenance was revealed to Ben and Mayon by none other than the most trustworthy source, John Avery, Ronald's son. Coming from the cellars of Ben and Mayon this '59 was, of course, amazingly youthful. The color was dark, nearly opaque in the center and the scent was clean and fruity. A muscular wine filled with flavors of black cherries and sweet, dark spices like licorice and cinnamon. It's most similar to a Clos de Vougeot, which is what many Grands Échezeaux can taste like, quite understandable given the vineyard is bordered on two sides by Clos de Vougeot. It was almost hands-down the group favorite in the flight. I thought it was remarkable, especially given its unbelievable youthfulness, but a bit too heavy and lacking definition for me.



The other four Grands Échezeaux, all from DRC, have, of course, a striking resemblance to each other, though vintage character and I would guess vineyard conditions during each period weighed in significantly. Suffice it to say the '64 exemplified the singular quality of DRC and the greatness of Grands Échezeaux. In some instances and in the DRC stable specifically, Grands Échezeaux is often compared to another DRC wine, Romanée-Saint-Vivant. Historically, the two DRCs are served together side-by-side. It is interesting how DRC's Grands Échezeaux could share the seductive, feminine qualities of its Romanée-Saint-Vivant even though the two vineyards are so far apart. The answer could be that Musigny, that other famously seductive grand cru often sharing similarities with Romanée-Saint-Vivant, is just above and may have influenced some portions of the Grands Échezeaux vineyard. At any rate, I love the '64, the greatness of the vintage really shows. My notes say, light but intensely colored, very refined, precise, with delicious spicy cherry flavors and a silky texture. In other words, Musigny-like or Romanée-Saint-Vivant-esque in its seductive character.

The '85 DRC Grands Échezeaux is another great wine. It is firm and structured with a richness, concentration, and length that make it taste like an infant next to the '64.

Also another potential legend was the '96 DRC Grands Échezeaux. It shows more structure than fruit, yet the fruit is incredibly refined and precise at such a youthful stage making the wine irresistible and a joy to drink.

The overachieving award in the flight has to go to the '83 DRC Grands Échezeaux as it comes from an irregular vintage unlike the greatness of the other vintages in the flight. True, a hardness was evident in the wine but it's only slight and well compensated for by its glorious floral, spice, and cherry perfume and the intensity and depth of the fruit. This wine is a testament to the consistency of Grands Échezeaux.



Steve's mushroom risotto topped with seared duck breast performed wonders with all these old red Burgundies. A seamless exchange of complimenting flavors and textures between wine and food. A great gift to us and to all these wines, Steve!



A cheese plate at the end came in very handy as there was still much wine left to be sipped.



As Sandy mentioned later, while we were enjoying the Burgundies an unopened bottle quietly stood on the table, patiently waiting for its turn.



It was another Yquem wine, this time the grand vin Sauternes, the 1967 Château d'Yquem. Acknowledged as one of the greatest Yquems ever made, thereby making it one of the greatest wines ever made. I confess a fondness for lighter vintages like the 1994 and 1999, they're very friendly and engaging. The '67 is daunting. Am I worthy enough to appreciate its qualities? A wine as great as this makes me nervous and I feel I might not be up for the challenge. This is very concentrated with a very botrytised nose. The flavor is dense with honeyed fruit and toasted caramel, multilayered and packed to the core. Feel the power. It proved unyielding to me. Next time, perhaps, I can discern it more, especially if given time to sip away.



No BNO gathering is complete without Port at the end, so Kevin usually has the Port tongs nice and hot by the time we finish dinner. This night it was a 1963 Warre's with a Berry Bros Rudd label. I stopped taking notes so my recollection is a bit hazy, but good thing Kevin took good notes:

"Warres (Berry Bros. Original Label) 63. Medium weight, light bricking, medium ruby, incense, boysenberry, elegant, bit of pepper, very very long finish. One of the better 63’s I have had in the last 5 years. Can age forever. (19)



And so another fulfilling year with my BNO brethren is passing by. The consensus is we marked it with the best yet. We are all so blessed and thankful for everyone's friendship and generosity. Hep! Hep!