GLORIA AND THE 1855 CLASSIFICATION
Last night a sublime and elegant wine poured out of the bottle you see in the picture. It was ruby red in color, with an instantly recognizable Bordeaux nose, and a smooth, clean, multi-phase presentation in the palate. It had perfect balance of fruit, alcohol and acidity. It carried no hint of roughness. It was by all measures, a grand Bordeaux wine. And yet Chateau Gloria, well known and well respected among Bordeaux lovers, does not belong in the elite group of 61 chateaux classified under the famed 1855 list, and is merely a Cru Bourgeois. The fate of Gloria is[...]
WINE LINE-UPS AND STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
Wine tasting is a subjective experience. Not only do different people with varying palates receive divergent experiences from the same wine, but quite often a given person can have receive different impressions depending on the context in which wines are tasted. A chatty cocktail party setting for instance is not conducive to a serious tasting experience because the taster is distracted by the social milieu. Likewise, wines accompanying food can give tremendously variable experiences than those tasted alone. In a serial tasting where several wines are being experienced in a row, devoid of chit chat, food and other distractions, the[...]
A WONDERFUL BORDEAUX TASTING
In a trade style tasting entitled "Tour des Deux Rives" (Tour of two rivers), which refers to the Garonne and Dordogne rivers which run through Bordeaux, the San Francisco wine shop K&L assembled an impressive array of wines along with winemakers. Held in a swank second story art gallery overlooking busy Union Square, the tasting featured 25 labels by 6 winemakers, and it ranged from very high end exclusive labels to entry level wines and everything in between. I most enjoyed meeting the various French winemakers, including Bruno Eugene Borie of Ducru Beaucaillou (lower picture) and the famous Christian Moueix[...]
DOMESTIC MOUVEDRE THAT TASTES FRENCH; A RARITY
Finally, a California Mouvedre that resembles its French counterpart!This one appeared in our regular Friday night blind tasting recently and it was an elegant wine with a cocoa/coffee nose, nice upfront fruit, well balanced and clean with good acidity in the finish. It revealed its domestic origin in a hint of sweetness in mid palate, and its high alcohol. However, we all guessed that this would turn out a Chateauneuf du Pape or Vacqueras. We were surprised to discover that it originated close to home, in El Dorado County.Mouvedre is an old world grape initially planted in the Catalonia region of[...]
ON WINE LISTS
Today, instead of wine I wish to discuss wine lists. They come in all sizes varying from one brief page to colossal coffee-table books. A recent article in the Food & Wine section of the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle announced that massive encyclopedic wine lists are going the way of Britannica. Most restaurants are simplifying and shortening their lists to make the experience less confounding. The new ideal is that of the wildly popular Cotogna, the little-sister restaurant to Quince, where a carefully selected, small list is comprised of bottles that carry the same price: $40. It can't get any simpler than that.The managers[...]
THE FUTURES GAME
I just purchased the above bottle, a 2008 Ch. Larcis Ducasse for $ 60 at K&L , a San Francisco wine merchant. It was discounted from $80 when it hit the shelves around a year or two ago. This unusual event, a Bordeaux which experiences a price decline, is an important lesson for those of us who buy Bordeaux on the futures market. Bordeaux is expensive, especially the 1855 Cru Classe high growths, or other celebrity names not included in this classification like Petrus, Cheval Blanc etc. In general, the best way to buy Bordeaux is on the futures market.[...]