Al Lageder Rocks

Had the great pleasure of meeting one of my "Wine Heroes" last week. Not just meeting Alois Lageder, famed Italian winemaker, but participating in a mentored tasting of a number of his single-vineyard biodynamically produced wines from Alto Adige. He makes over 20 different wines in the highlands of the Dolomites. He carefully chooses which grape will be planted at which particular site, reaching such decisions by considering the whole terroir, the complex and total array of all of the natural factors that determine the uniqueness of any given locale. He has been at the forefront of biodynamic agriculture for many years, with the long-term goal being to strengthen the vineyards' biological equilibrium. By increasing the vitality of the vines, their resistance to parasites and disease is enhanced. Allowing full ripening of the grapes, and utilizing gentle vinification processes (such as relying upon gravity vs. the use of pumps), Lageder is able to produce wines of singular typicity. These elegant wines truly taste of their origin. Two of my favorites from the tasting were the 2007 "Benefizium Porer" Pinot Grigio & the 2007 "Haberle"Pinot Bianco. The PG was a shining example of the often-flat varietal. Super-clean, stunning minerality, just enough acidity and some creaminess for balance. Just a hint of lime for the minimal fruit component. The Pinot Bianco, on the other hand, could not have packed more fruit onto the palate. This dry, fresh, vibrant fruit-bomb washed starfruit, green melon, grapefruit, and tart green apple over my beaming tastebuds. Chockfull of fruit flavors and fully supported by crisp minerality. This is the best Pinot Bianco I've ever tasted. This man is a genius, and I hope that he is able to create wines this good for many years to come. While the PG would be great with anything with flippers from the sea, the PB is a super "stand-alone" wine, simply calling for the good times to roll. We are very proud to be able to offer Alois Lageder's wines here at Wines.com, and we wish he and his family continued Great Success.  

Cheers, Buckley Wineholt

Whatta Whole Lotta Bubbles

Capital gains? Capital pains! There are big-time, big-money French Champagnes to lubricate the rich (you two still out there?) and there are scads of plucky sparklers made 'round the world for the other 99.99% of us workin' stiffs. I'm a big fan of Prosecco and I've even had a Spanish Cava or two that I dug. Honestly, I've never been wowed by the Cali bubblies that I've tried. Tasted scores, never wowed. Until August. On a day laden with waaay too many pinot noirs and gewurt's in Anderson Valley/Mendocino, I stumbled across a Reveletory Sparkler. Scharffenberger Cellars first began making wines in 1981, with varying levels of success. Fast forward to 2008, they're currently owned by famed French Champagne house Louis Roederer, and are making what I belive to be Cali's best sparkling wine. And It's not French at all. It's composed of 65% pinot noir & 35% chardonnay, and while the pinot is clearly driving the bus here, the chard shows it's elegant face shiningly. Fruit forward, with the AV pinot bringing creamy strawberry/raspberry, cherry and brambly plum in. The chardonnay component undergoes 100% malolactic fermentation, enhancing the vanilla creaminess. Twenty-first century Cali tropicality brings exotic mango, lychee and pineapple fluff notes. Two years rested on lees, the chard brings a yeasty toastiness, dense with pastry shop butterscotch brioche and lemon chiffon flavors. Sweet this is not, true brut dry-finishing with a crunchy mineral backbone. All for under sixteen smakers, price-specialized for your drinking pleasure. Being from Mendocino, serve Scharffenberger Brut with whatever you eat when you get the munchies.

Cheers, Buckley Wineholt

Enjoyin' the Ride

Never drink Champagne on a roller coaster. The bubbles will wreak havoc on your sinuses. Never drink red wine on a roller coaster. You'll never get the stains out, and the passengers behind you will fear that you are bleeding out. Never drink heavy, oaky white wines on a roller coaster. They're just not applicable to the wild ride. Never drink sweet wines on a roller coaster. What with all of the cotton candy and all, you've had enough sweets. While riding a roller coaster, be sure to drink a light, crisp white wine. Something Italian. The Italian winemaking regions known for their great whites range from Trentino-Alto Adige (producing the world's best pinot grigios) and the Veneto in the northeast, through Umbria (and it's Orvietos) down to Campania (Greco di Tufo & Fiona di Avellino - these are arguably Italy's best whites). A Sicilian Vernaccia would ride very well in a roller coaster. While you're having a wild ride, it's important not to splash these wonderful whites on your fellow passengers. Although it's true that there's enough soaking to go around these days, you don't want to add to it. Savor your wine while you ride the roller.

Cheers, Buckley Wineholt

Worth the Wait

On the other side of the pond, blended wines are the norm. Back when we Americans regularly slaked our thirst with locally brewed ales, the French, Italians and Spanish were imbibing rich, well-developed blends of cultivated grapes grown to complement each other in finely crafted wines. Today's vino babble focuses on one such wine from Bordeaux's Medoc. One of the wines that I had the pleasure of drinking this past weekend was the 2000 Chateau La Bessane from the Margaux A.O.C. in the southern Medoc. Side note - Wine Spectator gave the 2000 Left-Bank Bordeaux vintage 99/100 points, "Postmodern classic, Benchmark Bordeaux". It gave this particular wine 90 points. The wines from Margaux have been described as being "like an iron fist in a velvet glove". This wine is no exception. It is a very unique composite of 60% petit verdot, 20% cabernet sauvignon and 20% merlot. Petit verdot (petit because of the small berry size) is a very late-ripening grape, and wines made from it take years to reach maturity/drinkability. The 2000 vintage in Margaux was a very long one, allowing for the petit verdot's full development. This 2000 drank beautifully, and would have been great with a big, juicy Ribeye. The 2000 Chateau La Bessane Margaux is fully developed, and still richly tannic. Lush and silky with deep, dark red fruits finishing with spicy oak. I happen to know where to get some of this for under $20 a bottle. As they say, the best things in life are worth waiting for.

Cheers, Buckley Wineholt

A Trilogy of Blended Pleasures

Why are Americans so afraid of blends? Our nation serves as a shining example of the power of the melting pot, gaining strength from our diversity. You'd think that we would be crazy for wines that expertly blend a number of varietals. We're not. Certainly in the cheap wine stratum, people accept that they'll be getting blended plonk for their pennies. At the other end of the spectrum, giant proprietary blends, especially from Italy and Australia (and Cali) are the most sought after reds. It's in the middle, where real, everyday wine drinkers purchase wines that blends are anathema. In my decade-plus experience selling wine, I've found general reluctance on the part of wine buyers when it comes to blends. White blends can tend towards the loony/loopy (see"Battle of the 'Poor Man's Conundrum'"10/08/08) putting too much in your mouth. Red blends, at least the well-made, well-balanced ones, tend to be synergistic affairs, with the wine's strength equalling more than a sum of its parts. All Bordeaux wines are blends, most Super Tuscans. In reality, Cali "single varietal" wines usually don't contain more than 75% of the stated varietal. One that recently hit my Tastemaker Radarscreen is the 2005 Flora Springs Trilogy, composed of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc, in true meritage style. This edition of this world-class master-blaster of power and grace marks Flora Springs 30th anniversary of fine winemaking. Exhibiting cassis and dark cherry on the nose, the palate is pleasured with black cherry, cocoa, coffee & toffee. A stunning red to be cellared and enjoyed over the coming decade. This Rutherford/Napa gem is a blend that Americans can proudly consume, proud of the diversity that abounds here in the Good Old U.S. of A. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate agrees, giving this vintage 93 points. Also, a little bird (parakeet, actually) just informed me that the 2005 Trilogy can be found hereabouts at a deep discount. Look upon it as a safe investment, if you will. Serve this wine with cuts from the recently slaughtered Bull Market.

Cheers, Buckley Wineholt

Sustainability

I'm no farmer. Most wine drinkers aren't. Most of us don't know much about the various agricultural practices employed by wineries. Increasingly, many of us are rightfully concerned about the actual impact of how what we consume is produced. We are increasingly concerned about the deleterious affects that corporate agricultural practices have had on the land in the past 50 years. I don't presume to know much about the "healthiest" agricultural practices that a winery can employ, but I'm learning. As we concerned wine consumers are all learning about the correct, intelligent, healthy ways that grapes can be grown and wine can be made. You'll be reading a great deal here, and elsewhere, about organic, sustainable and biodynamic growing practices that wineries chose to employ. To me, the over-arching concern must be sustainability, in a larger sense. It is important to consider both the environmental and the economic sustainability quotients. If the land is farmed using the smartest, healthiest methods, and good (or great) wine is produced as a result of this, and the wine is marketed effectively, then economic sustainability should follow. Sure, there's weather, labor issues and a million other " Murphy's Law" factors to consider. I'm no farmer, nor am I an economist. I'm just another wino with righteous concerns. The wineries that address these concerns have a better chance of surviving than those that don't. They're unsustainable.

Cheers, Buckley Wineholt

Battle the "Poor Man's Conundrum"

Most fans of domestic white blends are familiar with Caymus' second label Conundrum, a unique propietary blend of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, muscat, semillon and viognier. Wildly complex and vibrant with honeysuckle, peach/apricot nectar and floral-citrus notes, the precise blend changes with each vintage. Lovers of the wine hold "Conundrum Parties", with each guest attempting to guess the exact varietal composition. A lesser known, and lower-priced option is the Chenin Blanc-Viognier from Pine Ridge. Somewhat more restrained, unlike it's crazy cousin Conundrum, featuring pear,lychee, melon and grapefruit notes. While both wines do have a citrus component, the muscat in the Conundrum can really make the train fly uncontrollably off of the tracks. It's just too much. Surprisingly, both wines come from producers of high-dollar, powerhouse Rutherford/Napa reds (Conundrum did just open it's own facility in Monterey County in 2007 to be closer to its Central Coast-sourced fruit). These whites sell for nearly a quarter of their big red brothers. My understanding is that they are something of a "loss leader" for both wineries, in order to introduce the brands to customers. Hence their prevalence on restaurant menus. Another crazy cousin white not to be missed, if you like this sort of thing, is the Evolution (formerly Evolution#9) from Sokol-Blosser in Dundee Hills/Willamette Valley. I'll spare you the gory 9(!!!)-varietal details, but this wine takes the cake for crazy complexity & "Where'd I leave my hat?"-taste-profile insanity. Look for intensely perfumed honeyed-floral aromas, a delicately spiced herbaceous character with melon, peach, green apple and grapefruit on the palate.Oh, and nutmeg (gewurtraminer, you so crazy). Honestly, though I've joyously quaffed Evolution numerous times (once while strolling the very vines from which the wine springs), I culled the preceding description from the website's flavor descriptors for the nine varietals that compose the wine. Did that just to show you how loopy these folks are. I DARE you to pair these wacky whites with your wildest culinary creations. Great "ice-breaker"/hostess gift wines. All three, real head-turners. - Buckley Wineholt