The Wein Doktor

Portuguese Pride

2008-12-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

Quinta Dos Quatro Ventos - Colheita De 2004 - Douro
I've been drinking this wine for years. I once took it to a wine tasting class and it was the star out of over a dozen different bottles. The 2004 is a wine with well-integrated tannins. Nice weight on the mid-palate - some very, intense dark berry fruits with a trace of licorice are a smooth theme in the wine. This wine can age well for probably eight years or so. I probably would not go over a decade. I feel the character will develop nicely this time span. The nose is a throws a bright warmth with, again dark fruits, warm plums, and Xmas cake baking spices. A real pleasure to consume. Grade: B + or 88+ pts. Caves Alianca produces this wine and they do a nice job with lesser expensive efforts. Seems like a solid operation. They brought in Michel Rolland to help with the production. A blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Tinto Roriz are aged in season French and Russian Oak for 12 months.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NIGHT II

2008-12-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

Olivier Leflaive Chablis 1er Cru 2003 (picture in background)

Note: I've waited too long to post this blog and my tasting notes are a bit fuzzy. However, my wine compatriot may embelish this particular entry as it evolves.

The Chablis was the first wine we started with and it was very OK in a decent sort of a way. How's that for non-commital. Too cold at first, silky, minerally, smooth, some ripe apple but there was some disjointedness about it. When I revisited it the wine had become even more ungainly with notes of acrid oxidation - just hints, mind you, but for a $45 wine - unacceptable...for an $8 bottle of wine unacceptable. You have to chill it like a Lone Star and drink it quick. Hardly a good selling point for a white Burgundy. Past its prime and just about ready to pour out on the hedgerow. Thumbs down. Grade: D

Villa Wolf Pinot Noir 2006

Cool wine! I really, really enjoyed it. Tasted like no other Pinot I've had! From the Pfalz region, Ernst Loosen uses contracted growers to make some great wines under this label. I read one reviewer that described the wine as very grown up for the price - an excellent way of putting it! It deceived me into thinking it was a higher pedigree. Perhaps global warming is making Spatburgunder more growable in Germany? Fruit, not cherry...how about red rhubarb jam with a hint of cinnamon bark. Smooth texture. Heavier and darker than expected. Someone knows what they are doing. A bottle with character! Seek it out. Only $20 - you won't find a Pinot in its class at this price. Grade: B++

more to come....

THE WINE TRIALS -Review Part I

2008-10-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of the most offensive wine publications I have ever read. The book is so completely filled with contradictions, self-aggrandizing hypothesis, old news, worthless opinions, and offensive observations as to defy the imagination. The book is aptly name, though, it is a severe 'Trial' for any wine industry professional or wine enthusiast who reads this book or is forced to sell it.

THE WINE TRIALS is filled with annoying opinions that are just that - opinions. Take for example on pg. 3: "the American wine shelf is less orderly and more impenetrable than it was before the(wine) renaissance began." Is this a fact or opinion?! In my opinion, American wine consumers know more about wine than ever before Merlot, Brut, Pinot Noir and Bordeaux - they are all common terms that most would have not been able to identify fifteen years ago. Thanks to more TV cooking programs, magazine articles, Wikipedia, wine blogs, movies, and an increase of young, approachable Sommeliers and wine shop enthusiasts, not to mention the need to make wine understandable to sell it in an ever more competitive market, well, wine is just plain easier or to figure out. What is harder to figure out is whether the wine is from a huge conglomerate masquerading under a facade of being a small family winery, as marketing techniques get increasingly more savvy. With a little googling it's no problem, though.

pg. 4 "every dollar of revenue that producers spend on marketing is a dollar less they're spending on making wine, so when you buy a bottle that's been well promoted, you're less likely to get a good value for your money, not more."

So I buy a bottle of '96 Roederer Cristal Rose which is in a wooden case with a golden Mylar wrapper. Does this money they spend on the wrapper or the special bottle sans punt make the wine just a tad inferior because they could have put it in a regular box and used money for superior production??!! Or because Dom Perignon is in a cool bottle (it is a cool bottle even if it is over-priced) pictured in fancy magazines does that make the wine worse than a sparkling wine in a cheap bottle with a plastic cork. Mouton commissions famous artists to create art on the bottle, but the wine would have been so much better if they would have put the money into a new tractor or better pruning shears instead. Come on.

pg. 4 "$5000 per bottle or more for the 2005 release of Ch. Petrus - and the industry seems to be in more desperate need of a reality check than ever before."

OK, the population of the Earth has gone over six billion. The number of people on the planet keeps increasing while the number of hectares that Petrus has under vine, uh, stays the same. This wine is treasured by collectors around the globe and the 2005 vintage has been declared phenomenal. More and more people want this wine! It's a poor example, as no wine would ever be worth this price tag (if I had the money, though, I would spend thousands on old vintages of Burgundy, Bordeaux, and German TBA's,etc... not to mention a few bottle of '05 Petrus for my cellar) from a practical consumer stand point, but the market commands this price.

Also, the wine industry will be given a reality check like every other global or agricultural market has from the beginning of time when wine consumption drops - naturally; will this book be the one to deal out such a reality check to the market. Is that what is insinuated? What does this have to do with a $5000 bottle of Petrus, which has nothing to do with the wine market? Give me a break.

!!!!IMPORTANT!!!
pg. 18 "Wine Spectator openly flaunts a buddy-buddy relationship with the producer whose wines he's scoring?"

The book is talking about the "famous" scene in Mondovino when Suckling is joking around with fashion-heir and wine producer Ferragamo. THE WINE TRIALS insinuates that there is relationship between, hold on to your hats!!!!, The Wine Spectator and it's advertisers!! Who does not know this on some level? The magazine is 30 years old. They've been doing this for thirty years. It's reviews are more favorable to it's advertising partners. The nasty thing is how Suckling flaunted this fact on the camera. In all fairness, WS doesn't always give advertiser stellar revues, but rarely downgrades a wine from a big cash cow. I know this from talking to wine producers and from reading thousands of their reviews. This is an unfortunate trend in corporate America, rather than a statement about the wine business. A radio station that is owned by Disney will not dis on Disney, unless it is generates revenue, right?! The same goes for The Spectator, The Enthusiast, Decanter any big wine magazine. Here's a tip: don't buy any wine with massive advertising in The Spectator. The magazine reviews thousands of wines that do not advertise and they give many of these wines favorable or great reviews, only buy those wines. For the most part, the magazine does a pretty fair job of rating. Just stay away from the big names and you'll be fine.

The thing that bothers me most about this little jab by this annoying little book is the fact that THE WINE TRIALS panders to a certain grocery store chain and maybe more than one. This book wanted to put in over 30 wines that were exclusively carried by this certain chain. To the grocery store's credit it advised the publisher to lower the number of exclusive wines as it looked too obvious. I know this for a fact. Talk about a lack of scruples!!! Let's put wines that the grocery store carries exclusively. Even if the wines don't get great reviews it looks like they are favorite wines, as the book only has so many. Guess where the book sells at - you got it...this certain grocery chain. How convenient for the publisher! This book has no 'trellis to climb on' on when ripping other wine reviewers. This repulses me much more than any friendship a Wine Spectator staff member has with a well-respected wine producer for obvious reasons.

pg. 19 "It often seems that the act of buying, serving, and drinking expensive wine is, beyond the mere sensory experience, a way for people to display their wealth to other people..."

This has been going on since the Roman emperors consumed bottles of Opimian vintage of 121 BC Falernian. Is this new news? Perhaps it is to people who have absolutely no concept of human behavior. This is true for everything from cars to furniture. The book states the obvious like this many, many times and has the air of slamming the door shut on controversial industry secrets or debates - very annoying.

pg. 29 "I would not argue that you should brown-bag the wine that you serve with with dinner. In fact, if the wine is expensive, telling everyone how much it cost you - though gauche - might even help your guests enjoy it more."

Thanks for the tip, Captain. Here's a tip to the people reading this blog: when you want to learn about how to serve wine and what is good wine etiquette go ahead and put this book in the outhouse. Stick to established wine periodicals and reference books.

pg. 29 "Wines should not always be experienced blind. But I believe that they should always be judged blind. Only if we begin assessing value without any information at all will the vast pricing discrepancies...right themselves."

This book gives me a headache that no amount of red wine consumption ever has. Wine prices are not determined by taste alone. End of story. It's not a mystery that some wines are overpriced. Every bottle is completely different, as is every moment of life. Who will blind taste all of these wines and make the decision as to what the price will be. Will the masses be in charge of this? If we rely on this book's opinions Ch. St. Michelle bubbly will go for $100/bottle and Dom will sell for $12. All of the people who know wine and have decent pallets will be in heaven! I'll go snatch up the Dom, Krug, and Roederer if this is the case and I don't want to see any of this book's publishers near the inferior product that is Dom Perignon. If we base our pricing on what people really like than Beringer White Zinfandel is the most prized bottle of all and Cisco is looking really good in the temperature controlled vault. Y'quem go sit on the shelf at 7-11, maybe some transient will take you out behind the dumpster and guzzle you down @ $7.99 - the three college girls reviewing you thought your hue was of goat pee and the palate was so icky, icky sweet. Yucky!

LEAVE THE WINE REVIEWING TO THE PROFESSIONALS!! We do it all day. Drink what you like and can afford. Tastes change as they become more refined, as one becomes more educated. This is true for wine, music, food, etc. Consume all of the White Zin and Oak-chipped Chardonnay you want. It tastes fine and it gives you a buzz. Plus you won't drive the price up on the really good stuff. If you want to pretend that Avalon Napa Cab at $13/ bottle is as good as a Cab from Randy Dunn - hey, go for it! I'll pretend my Toyota is a Porsche and my dog shits gold. It's really that simple. This book does not make some huge expose on these "overpriced" wines. The prices are right where they should be. It costs more money to make good wine and when everyone wants the wine, it costs even more.

pg. 36 "Whether or not you find the "Parkerized" style pleasant on a sensory level, a more fundamental problem is that it's a style of wine that's not created by nature, but rather by aggressive intervention with techniques like aging wine in new oak barrels for extended periods of time."

Here is another quote from Karen MacNeil's excellent book The Wine Bible:
"The use of oak has been prevalent in wine making for at least two millennia, first coming into widespread use during the Roman empire. In time, winemakers discovered that beyond just storage convenience that wine kept in oak barrels took on properties that improved the wine by making it softer and in some cases better-tasting."

TWO THOUSAND YEARS!!! Man has been manipulating wine with oak for 2,000yrs.!! Parker was born in 1947 - I think, which was a very good year, but a little after 100 B.C.

Have you guys(authors/publisher of The Wine Trials) ever heard of old Rioja or Barolo? Wine manipulation has been going on since wine existed. In fact, it is WHY wine exists. Furthermore, this is a vastly simplified definition of Parker's style. Parker praises the Masters. If anything, he has brought the level of wine quality in France and around the globe up considerably and should be praised for this. His point scale is annoying to me, but I find his reviews of most wines very good. He appreciates many styles from sweet to elegant and gives good scores when warranted to all. He likes massive, powerful wines, but that is a personal taste issue. He filled a void in the wine reviewing world and what he likes dictates the style of many wine producers (that is their choice and some thrive on being anti-Parker!!), yet I believe he is as impartial as one can be. I am not a "Parkeroephile" but he has made life better for people involved in the world of wine in any regard for the most part. It irks people that he has so much power.

There are many statements like this in The Wine Trials clearly demonstrating that this book was written by a bunch of wine rookies, who, I believe, are motivated not by the love of wine, but rather by the lure of money and a pleasure (or power) in trying to rip what they perceive as a snobbish industry down a few notches. In doing so, throughout the book they use terms, techniques, and statements that were created by the very "wine snobs" they are trying to beat down. Most respected wine professionals are in a position of wine snobbery through hard work and because they really, really love everything about wine! This book could never exist were it not for the super-tasters and lovers of superior wines, who refined the descriptive techniques over centuries that conveniently fill the books' pages.

I'd bet anyone a case of '45 Latour that the people who authored THE WINE TRIALS, having made their money through publishing, will be cellaring some of the finest and most expensive wines the world has to offer in their homes. I only pray that they don't make their publishing money through wine literature.

Another thing - It struck me as ironic that this book tauts being for the average consumer yet it is published by a person who attended Harvard University, one of the most prestigious and expensive schools on the planet. We are informed of this literally in the first sentence of the book. Should I hold this against the authors, maybe, if you follow the guidelines of this book. Should we compare the "Ivies" to First Growths - I guess we could as easily do a review on community colleges next to Ivy Leagues. The blind tasting would be similar, I'm sure.

Next Blog: The Wine Trials - Review Part II

I can't wait until this is over...had to be done....check these good reviews by Eric Asimov:

http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/you-can-please-all-the-peopleor-you-can-make-great-wine/

http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/a-closer-look-at-the-wine-trials/

Billig(affordable) delight!!

2008-09-02T22:45:00.000-07:00

Monchhof Estate Riesling 2007 ahhhh! crisp, lemony, green apple; no Petril (German for petroleum nuances that oenephiles crave), but, hey, what do you want for 13.99 out of Germany. This is an old stand- by that has good character. Mosel wine grown on iron-infused Devon slate from what I am told. Long-lasting acidic finish and only 9% alcohol. Great stuff! I give it a B or 86 points and a thumbs up. Great for the hot, sweaty, Tejas night. Monchof means the "Monks House or Monks Court" and here's the ancient building! More info at http://www.germanwine.net/estates/moenchhof/moench.htm

Insipid, industrial Grocery Store Wine

2008-09-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

DIFLORA Pinot Grigio 2007 the grapes concocting this wine are harvested in the Delle Venezie. What can one say about a wine like this? "Google" this wine you get reviews that are completely neutral. It's boring wine that could pass for water (sans the slightly buttery/bitter aftertaste that bugs the hell out of me), it's nothing...like Budweiser. Actually, I like Budwesier better. Shoppers buy the same wine day in and day out, ignoring other finer alcoholic beverages. Why is this? Perhaps there is a comfort knowing a product is consistant and not threatening, bland and unchallenging. Consitency right down to the the familiar alcoholic buzz that comes after two glasses or so. Life is challenging enough, eh? This wine challenges nothing, including your wallet.

College Football loves Piedmont!!!

2008-09-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Wine the other evening with a friend while watching some season-opening College Football games. Started off with 2003 Chateau de la Maltroye 1er Cru GRANDES RUCHOTTES Chassagne-Montrachet (White Burgundy and american Football go hand-in-hand, don't they?) 100 cases produced worldwide. 2003 suffered an incredible heatwave and, consequently, the acid levels were quite low in Cote de Beaune. There was half-decent acidity on the finish of this particular bottle. Could be the addition of acid or perhaps the true nature of the appellation came through??? I'm guessing they helped the wine along. It was a pleasing bottle; I believe past its peak by a year or two. Had a nice lemony quality and some nutty spice, but a trace of oxidation. In all fairness could have been due to shoddy storage. No food was consumed with this bottle. I'd give it a C or 82 pts....whatever rating style you like. With the proper pairing, I think the bottle would have been delicious, all this with a close-out price - $110/ bottle is way too steep!! $50 would have brought a smile to my lips.

J. Davies Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 Diamond Mountain District was not next on the stand, however it was the next photo I downloaded. I was eagerly anticipating this wine, as I had just read an Eric Asimov article on well-balanced, tasteful Napa Cabs - J. Davies was included in a short-list. this wine is produced by Schramsberg who determined that this growing region ( closer to Spring Mountain) was more suited towards planting Cabernet. Interestingly, they actually have 2.5 acres of Malbec that goes into the blend. 2001 was the first effort producing 500+ cases. I was not overly fond of this wine. A real bummer. It wasn't bad, but so reserved and restrained, like a green actor who has never been on the stage, that is was difficult to figure out. It was still wound up like a top and decanting plus massive swirlage did nothing to coax the poor devil out of its hole. Reserved nose, dark mocha and black cassis on the palate, big tannins ; give it five or ten more years in the bottle. $100/ bottle on-line is also too pricey. I think we've probably seen all it can offer, but I may very well be wrong. I'd like the oppurtunity to try it again. C or 80 pts. for those scoring at home.

Next was the darling of the evening - 2000 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabaja (sorry for the blurry photo) 2000 was a great year in Piedmont! Wine Spectator rated this wine highly, as well as, the Wine Advocate. WS advised waiting until 2009, but I felt this was a very approachable style - this wine was ready to rock. I had a very tasty hot turkey sandwich with some herbs and the bottle lowered its pedigree amiably to acompany the meal. Afterwards, the Rabaja came on full force with delicious herbs and a beautiful anise flavor that had a sort of candied red berry intertwined. The body was balanced and the tannins compelling. At a $45 purchase price this bottle gets an A- or 91 pts. thumbs up, way up!! It is ready to consume and will wait for 5-10 more years, an approachable style I would drink it sooner than later. Yum Yum!!

....more to come on the evening....