Winebuys Guy Blog

In Praise of Ridge Geyserville

My wife Kim and I have been devotees of Ridge Geyserville for over two decades now, and you have to admit, there’s something to say for one of the truly great wines of California that still sells for under $40 while so many others have escalated dramatically in price well beyond that.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the “Geezer” isn’t a Cabernet, Merlot, Meritage or Pinot Noir, but rather a Zinfandel based red.  Or maybe not; after all, there are Zins out there that sell for $50, $75 and more, so maybe it’s more about Ridge CEO/Winemaker Extraordinaire Paul Draper and his staff taking the same balanced approach to pricing their wines as they do with making them.

Geyserville is delicious upon release, but unlike many Zins and Zin blends, its true strength lies in its ageability.  They are referred to as field blends; often, but not always, they could legally be labeled as Zinfandel, comprising 75% or more in their makeup, with lesser, varying amounts of Petite Sirah, Carignane, Alicante and Mataro, the inclusion of which is usually credited for giving the wines their firm backbone for long term aging.  Back in 2002, Kim and I had the tremendous good fortune to take part in a tasting of these going back to the 1976 vintage (the very year that I tried my first Zin, and the 11th bottling of Ridge Geyserville), and if some weren’t quite as good as others, there wasn’t a dog in the bunch, and many were brilliant.  The rule of thumb is usually to give them about 10 years from the vintage date to really show what they’re made of.  Often, they take on a smooth, claret-like character reminiscent of mature Bordeaux, although, I must admit that the lovely 1997 Geyserville is still showing plenty of that rich, spicy black raspberry character that could only come from a Zin-based wine, while fully integrating the more overt American oak qualities that I found a bit awkward in its mid-term.  This is a great wine that still has a fascinating evolution ahead of it.

We have a term to describe the bouquet that a glass of Geyserville, or indeed just about any Ridge wine exudes, including their terrific-but-mostly-under-the-radar Chardonnays, (at least until the recent Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2007 beauty pageant awarded the Ridge Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains Santa Cruz Mountain Estate 2005 the BIG #2), and that is “Draper perfume.”  It refers to a consistent charm and style statement that has been a constant since Paul Draper began to put his stamp on these wines in the early ‘70s.  You have to experience it to get an idea of what I’m talking about, if you haven’t already, and I mention it here because of the 2005 Ridge Geyserville 40th Anniversary Vintage now available at a very nice price from Winebuys.    

2005 Ridge Geyserville Sonoma, 77% Zinfandel, 17% Carignane, 6% Petite Sirah, 14.6% alc., $27.50: Good color, if not quite as dark as Geyserville always is, with a mélange of Draper perfume, including briar-bramble, raspberry and cherry graced with a pretty kiss of oak on the expressive nose. The flavors echo and expand with a solid core of typically ripe fruit; this is full-bodied, yet sleek, and deceptively structured with silky tannins and good acids. Not the biggest Geyserville, but it’s certainly a very fine one, and Kim agrees, describing it as “eminently drinkable” and “very cherry.” (I‘ve never had a wine that she characterized as eminently drinkable that I didn’t love.) As one might expect, it gets better with a few hours of air, and a few years in the cellar should do this 40th Anniversary edition even better.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about the ’97 I mentioned above, here are my brief impressions of that one from earlier this month:

1997 Ridge Geyserville; 74 % Zinfandel, 15 % Carignane, 10 % Petite Sirah, 1 % Mataro, 14.9% alc.: Still showing good dark color, this 10-year old blend has once and for all shed the excess oak that beset it during its early years, now offering the obligatory Draper perfume over delicious raspberry and mulberry. There’s still a rich core of fruit here, with no secondary characteristics as of yet; a wine of great balance and drinking beautifully right now.  Great Geyserville!

Cheers,

The Winebuys Guy

Holiday Champagnes

The holiday season is the time for celebration, and no libation in the world says celebration like Champagne.  Some of us can and do drink bubbly on a regular basis, but for most, sparkling wines are reserved for such festivities as holidays, weddings and large format flotation christenings.

While there are many, many fine Champagnes out there that serve admirably on such occasions, quite often, the average consumer opts for what I like to refer to as “the usual suspects,” with names like Veuve Clicquot and Moet & Chandon, and that’s fine, as these are established names of long standing and admirable character.  Still, I take great (and perhaps slightly perverse) pleasure in recommending alternative selections from lesser-known producers that offer considerably higher quality for the same price, if not even less.  I take even greater delight when a customer lets me know how well they enjoyed my recommendations, and Winebuys.com is currently offering selections from two such outstanding Champagne houses that offer brilliant QPR (quality-price ratio) for very reasonable prices.

One of the selling points used to promote the wines of J. M. Gobillard et Fils is that their vineyards are located primarily in Hautvillers, France, home of Dom Pérignon, and in fact they are the only Champagne house besides the more famous (not to mention much more expensive) Moët & Chandon to include that prestigious name on their labels. That’s all well and good, but it wouldn’t mean much if the wines weren’t of high quality, and happily, they are very tasty indeed.

Champagne Gobillard Brut Rosé NV 750 ml, $41.48: 1/3 Pinot Noir, 1/3 Pinot Meunier, 1/3 Chardonnay, Dosage: 8 g/l, Aged for 3 years in cellar, 12% alc. Peachy pink in color, with an explosion of bubbles when poured, leading into a fine, very active bead; big, rich and utterly dry, with earthy cherry flavors and aromas laced with undertones of minerality.  With good weight, racy acidity and very good length on the finish, this is a pleasure to drink and it gets even better as it opens with air.  A Winebuys staff favorite!

Champagne Gobillard Brut Tradition NV 750 ml, $36.60: 1/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Pinot Noir, 1/3 Pinot Meunier; Dosage: 8-9 g/l. Aged for at least 2 years in cellar, 12% alc. Medium straw color, and like the rosé, explodes with bubbles when poured, leading into a fine, very active bead; big and crisp, with tart apple and grapefruit-citrus flavors and aromas, good minerality underneath and a distinct lack of the kind of yeasty bread dough characteristics found in many a Champagne, which is by no means a detraction.  Intense in flavor, with excellent acids and length, this provides an eminently satisfying drinking experience, made all the more pleasurable when the price is considered.  A Winebuys staff favorite!

Inspired not only by Brad Baker’s excellent narrative of his visit to the Champagne house Philipponnat last summer, but also some excellent closeout prices from their local distributor, I took the opportunity to bring in the two non-vintage offerings from this producer and I can’t say enough about them, or these great prices.

Champagne Philipponnat Royale Reserve Brut NV, $29.28: 30% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier; Dosage 8 g/L, 12% alc. Pale gold in color, with an impressive mousse, active bead and racy acidity, this offers rich and intense flinty tart green apple and quince flavors and aromas shaded with yeasty undertones and a subtle nutty note. With good weight and length, there’s a lot to like here, and like it I do, especially as it opens and improves with air. A great value while it lasts.  24 bottles in house for immediate shipment.

Champagne Philipponnat Royale Reserve Rosée Brut NV, $30.50: 35% Chardonnay, 55% Pinot Noir; 10% Pinot Meunier, 12% alc. Salmon pink color, with an impressive mousse and active bead; rich and intense in the mouth, with earthy minerality over tart red apple and subtle yeasty undertones. Good weight, excellent acidity and nice length on the finish; in short, a very solid Brut rosé and a great value while it lasts.  Only 11 bottles still left for immediate shipment, so get them while they last.

Of course, there are always those who are after that extra-special bottle, and for whom price is no barrier, and to those people, we offer Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Rosé Brut 1996, for $324.82.  While my experience with this is limited and brief, having had only a short pour at a large trade tasting a few months back, it was one of the wines that stood out among those that I tried, and I was focusing specifically on Champagnes from the likes of Krug, Dom Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot and of course, Moet & Chandon.  There was far too much clamor and jostling for position at the various tables for taking detailed notes at this event, but I can point to Josh Raynolds’ impressions recorded in Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, in which he awarded this gorgeous Champagne 95 points.

“Bright, amber-tinged pink with pinpoint bubbles. Deep, smoky and complex, with a kaleidoscopic bouquet incorporating wild strawberry, peach, apricot, chestnut honey and cured meat. A firm, strikingly concentrated mid-weight with powerful flavors of orange peel, raspberry, redcurrant, baking spice and smoked meat and gentle supporting acidity. Smoky, sweet and long on the back, with a slowly building impression of acidity that suggests this will be a long ager. As usual, a stunning Champagne.”

We still have five bottles of these in stock for immediate shipment, so, again, get them while they last.

Happy Holidays,

The Winebuys Guy 

Welcome to our blog

Greetings and welcome to the brand new Winebuys.com Blog, where we will be talking about all things wine related and a whole lot more. Our first 45 days with the reincarnated Winebuys.com has been a wild roller coaster ride, and when you like roller coasters almost as much as wine like we do, that has to be a good thing! We’re looking to have a ton of fun with this new venture; we’ll be updating the blog regularly, so check back often and let us know what you think.

In this inaugural post, it seems most appropriate to let you know about the specials that we are offering right now. First of all, there are our Corporate by-the-case specials, featuring three QPR (quality-price-ratio) no-brainers, all for only $9.87 per bottle. Castle Rock is the king of QPR in California, and it seems that whatever their current Pinot Noir bottling may be, whether from Monterey County (the 2006 is in house as of this writing) or another region in the Golden State, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better specimen at that price. The same goes for the 2006 Varner Foxglove Edna Valley Chardonnay, a 90 Point wine, according to Robert Parker, Mr. Wine Advocate himself, who describes it as “outrageously delicious.” Rather atypical for California Chardonnay, this is anything but an over-ripe, oaky fruit bomb (not that we wouldn’t be happy to sell you one of those if that’s what you’re looking for), instead showing crisp acidity to keep the rich, stainless steel fermented fruit flavors moving right along. And finally, if you want a big red at a great price, it’s hard to beat the Petite Sirah-dominated 2005 Ten Mile Red, a chewy wine that balances heft and accessibility. All three of these are welcome at our house, and we think that you’ll like them too, if you haven’t tried them all ready.

As time progresses, we’ll keep an eye out not only for the hottest new wines to hit the scene, but also for those offbeat items that might otherwise fly below most folks’ radar. Because of our Michigan location, we’ll be telling you about the ever-improving wines from the Winter-Water Wonderland. Among the other Michigan products that we’d like to point out are Gayle's Chocolates, wine friendly confections made to pair with a wide variety of libations, including Moscato d’Asti, Sweet Champagne, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Tawny Port, Cognac and more. We’re ecstatic to offer you these tasty delights, and you can read more about them here.   

Please, don’t hesitate to chime in here and let us know what you think. If you have comments or questions, that’s what this blog is for, so by all means feel free to add to the continuing conversation.

Cheers,

The Winebuys Guy