Honestly, I’ve just been incredibly busy with my job that pays the bills, being a La Jolla real estate agent. Actually, most of my business recently has been in UTC, North Park, and Pacific Beach. Anyway…

I’ve been dying to write about the 2009 Franciscan Estate Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc since I received the sample early this year.

Clearly it is not the grass bomb of New Zealand, nor does it have the piercing minerality of a Sancerre. What it does offer are aspects of both of these sauvignon blanc stalwarts while offering the distinctly Californian touch of ripe fruit and the most pure streak of lime since you licked the saltless rim of a margarita.

This will be one of the top 5 California whites I taste all year.

Though I won’t be offering a point score for this wine, ( it clearly doesn’t need it) I know I will buy it, drink it, and give it as a gift with confidence!

2007 Bonterra Viognier Mendocino County

When I think of Thanksgiving dishes, I think quantity, variety, and aromatics.  Choosing a wine that matches these traits while offering up a little contrast to make things interesting is often the best choice for such a complex meal.  But how does one find a wine that works with turkey, creamed corn, and green bean casserole all at the same time?

Quantity:  Lots of food, lots of guests, and a long time at the table.  The wine should be lower than average in alcohol…I mean yeah…we’ll be watching football and having fun all day, right?  But, lower alcohol shouldn’t mean it doesn’t have the body style necessary to stand up to all the cream and gravy.  For contrast, the wine should have a little zing of acidity to cut through our close friend’s delectable sausage stuffing.

Variety:   This wine should be complex.  With a dozen different dishes, and some strong ones at that, the wine should bring lots of different aromas and flavorsto the table.

Aromatics:  Thanksgiving is the most aromatic of traditional American meals so it stands to reason we’ll need something with a high degree of aromatics so the food does not diminish its partner.

The winner? 2007 Bonterra Viognier, Mendocino County.

This cool climate wine has under 14% alcohol, offers both floral and fruit aromatics, and has a medium-full and creamy mouth feel.  Without question it is consistently year in and year out one of the great values in viognier, and it is widely available around the country for around $15.  Did I mention it is also Certified Organic?

Remember, its not what is in your glass, but who you share it with.

And, if you use this coupon, you’ll get a discount of $5 of any $75 purchase too!

2009 Solis Winery Fiano Estate

So I can’t say I was angry, but I will say I was disappointed. The wine was nothing short of superb, but my fellow panelists simply didn’t get it.

To set the stage, the “other” whites category at large wine competitions are, shall we say, is The Land of the Misfit Toys. If you’ve never tasted these sorts of wines, well, generally you aren’t missing much. Often times they are comprised of the end-lots of what didn’t make the cut of better quality wines, all mixed up, given a fancy name and sold over the counter at tasting rooms. A winery marketing director will pay a small fee to enter the obscure blend into the competition hoping it will get some recognition to help sell the inventory which would otherwise be flushed.

Fiano is a relatively obscure grape (unless you are from the Campania region of Italy). As a single varietal it absolutely stands on its own. However, because it is not chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, or another widely cultivated grape, in competitions it stands alone. But it must have a caterogy, so among the “other” category it falls.

Hum drumming through many of these drinkable-yet-uninspired wines I was stopped dead in my tracks. I tasted, sniffed, and re-tasted again. I set it aside, completed my flight, and went back to it again. In judging approximately 500 wines this summer, I awarded Gold just over a dozen.

The 2009 Solis Winery Fiano Estate was absolutely without question worthy of the highest award. Unfortunately, my fellow panelists couldn’t figure the wine out. Was it aromatic, was it fruit forward, was it a food wine, or was it just an “other”? Silver was all it was awarded this time.

When any subject is spoken on at length, it is a tribute to its own powerful nature. Unquestionably, this wine was spoken about more than any other at any wine competition I participated in over the last number of years.  In fact, it was the only wine from this major competition I sought out to discover its true identity after the event was completed. 

NOTE:  We taste all the wines blind at these events to avoid any predisposed bias.

It sings of floral aromatics, expresses distinctly new-world fruitiness, and offers a luxurious combination of a mildly creamy texture and perfectly balanced acidity. If you could blend the absolute best characteristics of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and gewürztraminer you can start to paint a picture of what this special wine has to offer.

Due to the rainbow of flavors in concert with the backbone of acidity one could enjoy this wine a huge variety of aromatic dishes. From grilled chicken Caesar salad to Thai food and anything in-between.

Or, as I have been, just sip it on the patio under the setting sun and enjoy the most exciting wine find of the summer. No categories. Just pure pleasure.

Oh yeah, the 2009 Solis Winery Fiano Estate did receive its much deserved Gold at the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Ahhh…redemption.

www.soliswinery.com

I really wasn’t in the mood to blog tonight, but when I opened and tasted the 2007 Dry Creek Vineyard Russian River Valley Chardonnay I just had to sit down and pound out  a few paragraphs!

I must admit that I’m a RRV chardonnay honk, as I much prefer the characteristics that come out of this AVA’s best vineyards over her sometimes more heralded Napa and Carneros bretheren.  However, I’ve had more than my fair share of really bad RRV chards before too.

Anyway, I was immediately taken aback by the balance on the nose.  Fruit, oak, and minerality were readily apparant and in a beautiful balance.  The fruit is more on the apple-pear side of the ledger but is certainly not devoid of subtlety.  RRV fruit can often show a minerality not often found in New World chardonnay–always a pleasant surprise.  The oak is again in balance…not overpowering or showing tannic astringency. 

COMPLEXITY!!!

Oh yeah…did I say L-E-N-G-T-H on the finish?  The best wines finish last.

Wonderfully round, no more than mid-weight, and integrated acidity keep this wine lively and a worthy food partner to grilled salmon, bacon-wrapped shrimp, or other foods of that nature.

Hmm…I thought I was just in for another long night of Olympic figure skating, but now I have something to look forward to–the next glass!

I guarantee this will be one of the best chardonnays I taste all year.

Mark the Cork Head

FIND IT HERE

If the sensual texture isn’t enough to make you smile, the beautiful perfumed nose of orange blossom, apricot, and beeswax certainly will. A strong impression of stone minerality comes forward on the palate, making this wine act like a squeaky clean “old world” viognier.

Die-hard chardonnay fans typically find a bottle of viognier in front of them at some point and are amazed at how delicious they are.  Bonterra consistently produces a superb quality example, and an organic one to boot. 

Just over medium in body backed by subtle acidity, try with Mandarin Chinese food. 

Decant prior to serving to get the full affect of the wine’s aromatics.

13.7% alcohol, 90 points. $14  FIND IT HERE

When chardonnay stays away from the heat of the Napa Valley it retains an entirely different character. Acidity, oak, and fruit harmonize into a beautiful example of why the Russian River Valley is arguably the most important region for this varietal in the United States.

Medium in body and acidity, the wine shows Meyer lemon, a whisper of toasty vanilla and a surprising rush of what reminds me of bananas foster on the finish. Beautifully balanced, this wine drinks like some of the most sought after chardonnay from the region. Enjoy with grilled stuffed salmon.  In fact, I think I’ll do just that tonight!

13.9% alcohol, 91 pts.

Available at BevMo and other retail outlets

Big House Red

So I just got through tasting and reviewing the three Big House wines that were sent to me by the distributor.  While writing my tasting notes a different thought process rolled through my head.  Let me explain…

A few years and beers ago my pal Dale, the bartender at Latitude 32 Grill and Pub in Pacific Beach, CA recanted a story from the previous night where a well dressed woman sashayed through the door of this neighborhood pub and asked to see the wine list.  Ever the clever lad Dale is, he went back to the office where he scribbled in large permanent marker three words on a coctail napkin.  “RED”, ”WHITE”, “PINK”.  I don’t think she’s been back.

Big House wines offer the same unrepentantly simple offerings.  Big House Red, Big House White, and Big House Pink.  Currently, the 2008’s have been released to most major supermarkets.

While I was tasting through the bottles I was reminded of the many reasons we all enjoy the beverage.  One of which is foremost in most peoples mind; simply for the sheer pleasure of enjoying a glass of wine.

Big House wines are never going to score the highest marks with critics, nor where they intended to.  They are meant to offer a medium for which to share a few laughs with friends and be an uncomplicated partner in the process.  At this, these wines very much succeed.  Plus, shopping for red, white, or pink wine doesn’t get much easier than this.

As these wines were not made for critics, I’m not going to score them, but I’ll offer my take on how they go down and you can decide if you want to give these inexpensive (around 8 bucks), well marketed, niche wines a go the next time you run into one at Safeway.

2008 Big House White:

I found this wine to be clean and aromatic.  It has a lightish body with medium acidity.  Peaches, white flowers, and orange blossom on the nose, with river rock and chalk minerality showing through on the palate.  The finish is short and clean like the entirety of the wine.

2008 Big House Red:

Relatively light in color and body for a red consisting largely of syrah, petit syrah, among a number of other varietals.  Cherry and sour cherry plus a little plum surrounded by a vanilla-carmel shell.  Medium-minus soft tannins that melt away quickly as does the finish.  This is a wine that can be served at room temperature or chilled, whatever the occasion would call for.

2008 Big House Pink:

Red-salmon, almost light pinot in color.  Very rich on the nose for a rose, it shows the grenache sour cherry aspect well, and may be just a hint vegetal–but not to any offensive level.  Medium alcohol and body with what seems to be a very minor note of older oak as well.  Blueberry bubble-gum plus a rush of non-descript mash of frutiness on the palate.  Dry.  This wine is exactly what it is supposed to be.  Simple, inexpensive, likeable.

I wonder now about that day at Latitude 32 if the bar had these wines to offer, would she have returned for another visit.  From what the bartender said about her, well, probably not.  But many others just might have.

Lime, passion fruit, and grapefruit flavors abound, plus the obvious and outrageous Marlborough grassiness and a hint of white pepper on the finish.  The fruit and non-fruit features integrate seamlessly in what is an excellent example of the NZ style of sauvignon blanc.

Super fresh tasting with firm acidity, I just can’t believe this wine is less than 10 bucks. It very much reminds me of the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, but has a lower impression of sweetness than the KC 2007. Absolutely one of the great values I’ve tasted this year.

13% alcohol, 91 points.

FIND IT HERE

It features a sublime texture, flavors of white peach and honey with a little dried apricot in the background, all supported by a pleasant minerality often reserved for old world and higher priced wines.  Chardonnay lovers looking for a change of pace will appreciate the lanolin-like texture, and certainly notice the hightened aromatics this wine provides. 

This South Australia product is a bit more crisp than some viogniers, and therefore is an easier food partner.  Enjoy as a coctail wine or with your favorite asian-inspired dish. 

James Halliday gave this wine 93 points, which I think is just a little high as the wine expresses a hint of phenolics that doesn’t seem to fit, but that won’t stop me from enjoying more of this superb value wine. 

14.5% alcohol, 89 points.  At only $11 dollars, you can’t beat the price/quality ratio for sure!

-The Cork Head