Winebuys Guy Blog

Recent Samples

Now that the holiday madness is past us, we’ve had a chance to spend some time with our distributor reps to see what’s new and exciting. Here are some of the things we’ve sampled lately that have caught our attention.  As you might expect, these are all available from Winebuys.

2005 Paso Creek Merlot Paso Robles, 13.8% alc., $14.40: Attractive garnet color, with equally attractive flavors and aromas of red plum, berry and cherry, all kissed with just enough sweet oak. Rich, not quite fat, almost sweet, certainly ripe and altogether enjoyable; if it were any riper, sweeter or oakier, I wouldn’t like it, but it balances these elements very well. Works well both with food and all by its lonesome, and offers excellent value for what’s in the bottle.

2003 Corte alla Flora Vino Nobile de Montepulciano Riserva, 13.5% alc., $23.90: Deep, dark color, with flavors and aromas of rich dried cherry and black cherry shaded with some animal and “sticksy” elements; zippy acidity and solid tannic structure. This opens so nicely with just a little air, and cries out for a fine cut of veal or lamb. Most impressive and enjoyable, and a solid value for the price.

2003 Juve y Camps Brut Nature Cava Reserva de le Familia, 40% Macabeo, 40% Parellada, 20% Xarel-lo, 12% alc., $13.80: Medium straw color; chalky, stony minerality dominates the character of this Cava, with some smoky, under-ripe apple being the only “fruit” component, and that’s a good thing in this case. Bone dry to the point of being austere, with good presence, zippy acidity and a wealth of tiny Don Ho-like bubbles in the mouth. An excellent Spanish sparkler that drinks even better than its price point might lead one to expect.

2006 Torres Vina Esmeralda Catalunya, 85% Moscato, 15% Gewurztraminer, 11.5% alc., 14.04: Medium straw color with a tinge of gold; dry, yet fruit forward with slightly chalky white peach and yellow apple shaded with some mineral and just a hint of litchi. Has a bit of the viscosity of good gewurz, with good presence, depth and acids; it’s fresh, refreshing, light (but not too light) and lively, and it not only makes a great match for seafood, but also serves admirably as a warm weather quaffer.

2006 Almira Grenache/Syrah Los Dos Campo de Borja, 93% Grenache (35-50 year old vines), 7% Syrah, 14% alc., $6.88: We quite enjoyed the previous vintage of this QPR All Star, and the current model is just as good as the last. It sports an attractive ruby red robe, with rich berry, cherry and dark chocolate flavors and aromas underscored with a subtle earthiness. It shows good structure, depth and balance, and the fruit gives you everything it has without any oak influence whatsoever. The perfect choice for an inexpensive everyday red.

2003 Chateau Pierredon Bordeaux Superieur, 13% alc., $9.60: Good dark color, with dark chocolate and cassis on the nose and flavors that echo with some added old wood. Drinks well now with some air, but the sturdy structure wants some time in the cellar, so patience will be rewarded. We liked this well enough to pick up a case for the house.

2004 Cave Bel-Air Bordeaux Superieur, $10.80: Good color, with flavors and aromas of cassis, black currant, old wood and a note of toasted bread. Well structured; all in all, a solid, straightforward everyday Bordeaux that's good now and will be better in a few years.

2005 Chateau Lavison Bordeaux, 12.5% alc., $9.90: Rich dark color, with cassis and lead pencil on the nose, which echoes and expands on the palate with a decidedly dry, almost austere personality; perhaps surprisingly, a note of decaying vegetation doesn’t detract. Good structure and presence, with promise for development and improvement over the next five years and beyond; good value and a good food wine.

Cheers,

The Winebuys Guy

Gamay and Morgon

If there were ever a Rodney Dangerfield of a grape out there that “don’t get no respect,” it would have to be Gamay, and for good reason, I suppose.  A red wine grape, it doesn’t produce big, long lived wines that score huge numbers and win awards, and although grown in various far-flung regions around the world, in only one of those is it the preeminent variety by which the appellation is known, and that is Beaujolais.

Beaujolais is a satellite region in the southern part of Burgundy, France, and Gamay is a member of the same family as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the red and white Burgundian stalwarts.  Most Gamay is light, fruity and innocuous, perhaps best exemplified by that party-in-a-bottle released every third Thursday of November, Beaujolais Nouveau, as well as oceans of ever-present lightweight Beaujolais Villages.  Not all Beaujolais is created equal however, as there are 10 sub-appellations, or Crus, that produce more serious wines of various weights and strengths.  One of those that produce some of the biggest and most substantial wines is Morgon, whose Gamays can sometimes resemble Pinot Noir and perform similarly when paired with food.

I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy two very nice Morgons recently, both of which are imported by noted Wine Merchant Kermit Lynch.  Lynch has a small stable of Morgon producers whom he playfully refers to as his “Gang of Four;” whether a reference to the Chinese Cultural revolutionaries or the ‘70s-‘80s post-punk rockers, I cannot say.  Two of the four are Guy Breton and J-P Thevenet, and their 2005 efforts are both excellent and rather different from each other.

2005 Guy Breton Morgon Vieilles Vignes, 13% alc., $25.52: Ruby red, almost light enough to read through, with an earthy red currant and cherry nose shaded with a hint of red licorice; the pretty, almost perfumed flavors echo and expand on the promise of the aromatics on a medium to medium full bodied frame. Deceptively well structured for at least three to five years of development and improvement; silky textured, almost delicate and exotic in character, unlike any Cru Beaujolais we’ve had before and quite different from Breton’s earthy 2002 Morgon.
 

2005 J-P Thevenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes, 13% alc., $26.34: Ruby red, with a smoky tinge; very Gamay in character, with attractive earthy cherry and cranberry flavors and aromas and just a hint of the barnyard on the nose. Medium to medium full bodied, with fine balance, silky tannins and good acids. I’m not sure I’d want to age this more than a few years, because it’s pretty much right there right now.   

If you’ve never had Gamay, or better yet, Cru Beaujolais, these two would make great starting points, but don’t wait too long.  As of this writing, there are 6 bottles of the Thevenet and a little over a case of the Breton still in stock, and there’s no more at the distributor, so it is what it is.

Cheers,

The Winebuys Guy

QPR All Star – Capcanes Mas Donis Barrica 2004

I’ve always made it a point to search out the best QPR (quality-price-ratio) wines I can find, both for my customers and for my own personal consumption, and frankly, they continue to become fewer and more far between in availability.  It seems as though prices continue to rise without a corresponding increase in quality, and so one has to be ever vigilant in locating those special bargains that offer exceptional value for relatively few dollars.  Tonight, I had the pleasure to enjoy one of the finest bargains I’ve run into in a long time, and in truth, I’m probably a little late picking up on it, but better late than never, as the old cliché goes. 

Celler de Capcanes Mas Donis Barrica 2004 is from the Eric Solomon/European Cellars stable of Spanish wines, and is, quite simply, brilliant for only $10.37 per bottle.  It offers deep, dark color and rich, ripe (but not over-ripe) plum and cherry flavors and aromas, with solid depth and a soft, smooth, almost opulent texture in the mouth.  Happily, this is not a manipulated mess (what some people would refer to as “spoofalated”) like more than a few of the highly rated reds coming out of Spain these days, and you might want to pick up a few bottles or even a case of this before I do, because it’s going to be our house red for at least the next month or so.  It pairs very nicely indeed with grilled/smoked leg o’ lamb.   

I just can't say enough about this little beauty, but if you need a second opinion, here’s what the Wine Advocate’s Jay Miller had to say about it last February:

Celler de Capcanes Mas Donis Barrica 2004, 750 ml: 90 Pts., Jay Miller/Wine Advocate. The 2004 Mas Donis Barrica is 85% Garnacha from 80+-year-old vines and 15% Syrah aged for 8 months in French and American oak. Opaque purple, it has a wonderfully expressive nose of spice box, pencil lead, pepper, blueberry, and blackberry liqueur. On the palate the wine is full-bodied with layers of ripe, spicy black fruits, nicely concealed tannins, and a long, pure finish. It is an outstanding value for drinking now and over the next 4-6 years.

Cheers,

The Winebuys Guy

4 From Joseph Swan Vineyards

Joseph Swan Vineyards is one of the legendary wineries of California, and Joe Swan was one of the pioneers of great Left Coast Pinot Noir (which he grew and made in arguably the finest region in the state for that variety, the Russian River Valley).  Although Mr. Swan is no longer with us (he passed away in 1989), his daughter and son-in-law Lynn and Rod Berglund carry on his tradition most admirably. (You can read more about Joseph Swan’s history here.) These are wines that are made to age gracefully and enjoy with food, rather than win tastings and garner 90+ point ratings. That’s not to say that they aren’t worthy of high ratings, it’s just not their intent. We’ve enjoyed some of these in the past, and when I sampled the first two of the following four at a recent tasting, I was so impressed, I just had to get my hands on more to get to know them better, and I’m glad that I did.  We carry all four of these at Winebuys.com, and I’d rather drink them than many wines that cost two or three times as much.  Here’s why.

2005 Joseph Swan Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Trenton View Vineyard, $36.60: Slightly murky smoky garnet in color, with an earthy cherry and mushroom nose; the rich flavors echo and expand, showing some added forest floor and rhubarb over a ripe core of fruit. Medium full bodied, with silky tannins and balanced acidity, and while obviously youthful, with its best days well ahead of it, it is already drinking pretty well, especially with a Thanksgiving turkey roulade. This wine takes me back to those Pinot Noirs that first captured my imagination back in the early ‘90s (Kalin Cellars sticks out in my mind for good reason), with their mushroom-like character, and if ever a Left Coast specimen could be described as “Burgundian,” this would have to be a prime candidate.    

2005 Joseph Swan Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Cuvee de Trois, $30.50: Ruby red color, not too dark, not too light; fragrant perfume of smoky black cherry and plum shaded with a bit of cola. All of which echoes and expands on the palate with a certain spicy character and a hint of rhubarb.  Medium to medium full bodied, with nice length, a silky texture and adequate structure for at least three years of further development, and just as likely five.  This has a slight green streak that in another wine might detract, but in this case, adds to the complexity, especially as it opens with air.  Very nice indeed.

2001 Joseph Swan Russian River Valley Zinfandel Mancini Ranch, $23.18: Ruby red in color, with a dust red raspberry and cherry nose; these impressions follow through on the palate with a pretty core of rich fruit laced with a subtle undertone of earthy mushroom, not unlike the ’05 Swan Trenton View Pinot Noir. Full bodied without excessive weight or extraction, this is graced with balanced tannins and acids and nice length on the finish, making for a distinctive Zinfandel made much more in the style of the ‘70s and ‘80s than those of the steroidal ‘90s and beyond, and that’s a plus in my book.

2001 Joseph Swan Russian River Valley Zinfandel Frati Ranch, $27.38: Clean dark color, with rich raspberry and cranberry flavors and aromas; like the ’01 Mancini, this has a slightly Pinot Noir-ish quality to it, but this time, it owes that to the cranberry-like element rather than any mushroom-y quality.  This is pure Zinfandel, with no frills or pretensions; it features fine balance and structure and it’s hitting on all cylinders right now.  Just one more example of why we love these wines.

Cheers,

The Winebuys Guy

The State of Wine – Michigan

There was a time not so many years ago when the mere mention of Michigan as a legitimate wine-producing region elicited little more than raised eyebrows and derisive snickers.  Back then, it was common to describe our better wines as being “pretty good,” with the qualification “for Michigan.”  Happily, those days continue to recede into the past, as the state of wine in the Winter Water Wonderland continues to improve dramatically and more and more of the wines can be characterized as being delicious on their own merit, and without reference to or apologies for their place of origin.  And perhaps no other Michigan winery better exemplifies this than Chateau Grand Traverse. 

Chateau Grand Traverse (CGT) is a family-run winery, founded in 1974 by CEO Edward O’Keefe, Sr..  These days, his two sons are his chief aides; Edward O’Keefe III serves as President and head of Marketing and Sales, while Sean O’Keefe is Vice President and Specialty Winemaker (at right).  These are heady times at CGT; we’ve long been fans of their wines, which have ranged from good to very good to excellent, and many selections from their 2006 vintage not only surpass most of what we’ve tasted to date, they’ve been turning heads all around the county, and indeed, the world. Consider the following:   

At last year’s 2007 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition, four of their wines took Gold Medals; two more took Silver, one a Bronze, and one was given a Platinum Award for Best of Class. They have received numerous medals at other competitions around the country as well, but Los Angeles was the most significant, because it gained CGT entry into the southern California market, a major coup for the first Michigan winery to achieve such placement. Ralph’s supermarkets feature Gold Medal winners from this particular competition throughout its chain, and as a result of their showing, CGT sold 720 cases for distribution in 130 Ralph’s stores in the LA area, with an eye towards future placement in the San Francisco Bay area as well.

And as if that weren’t enough to make everyone at CGT giddy with delight, there was the inaugural Riesling Rendezvous, held at Chateau St. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington on June 24-26 under the joint sponsorship of that winery and Dr. Loosen, one of the foremost Riesling producers in Germany. Conceived as “an event to bring together leading Riesling experts and producers to explore the versatility of Rieslings from around the world,” more than a few eyes were raised in surprise by the Chateau Grand Traverse selections being poured, as recorded in the following testimonials:

“Categories aside, there were some wonderful Rieslings on display (220 of them, to be exact), and some were from surprising places. Chateau Grand Traverse in Michigan, for example, is making terrific Rieslings in a variety of styles." - Laurie Daniel, San Jose Mercury News

“Perhaps the biggest discovery at the conference for most attendees was the excellence of the Michigan wines - and that Chateau Grand Traverse produces about 65,000 cases.” - Paul Franson, Wines & Vines

Riesling is King at CGT, but it’s not the only thing that they produce.  Here are my impressions of five of their best wines currently available:

Chateau Grand Traverse Late Harvest Riesling 2006, $13.34: This wine is hugely popular in the Michigan marketplace, and CGT produces over 10,000 cases a year, but despite being released in the spring, it's an even bet that there won't be much around by Christmas. Medium straw in color, it offers apple, peach and apricot flavors and aromas with Spatlese levels of sweetness and enough minerality to add another dimension and propel it well beyond being just another simple sweet white from northern Michigan. Rich, round and crisp, with good acids and length, this certainly serves well as an after-dinner sipper, but it is also a wine to pair with some spicy Thai or Indian cuisine, or perhaps even better, some fresh pan fried northern Michigan trout. A Winebuys.com staff favorite!
Gold Medal - 2007 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition, CA
Gold Medal - 2007 San Francisco International Wine Competition

Chateau Grand Traverse Semi-Dry Riesling 2006, $10.25: Medium straw color with a tinge of lemon; modest perfumed apple and peach aromatics echo and expand dramatically on the palate with undertones of lime, pine and some nice minerality. Medium bodied and then some, slightly oily in texture, with good acids and length; rich, delicious fruit with Kabinett levels of sweetness. All in all, a very enjoyable Riesling.
Silver Medal - 2007 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition, CA
Bronze Medal - 2007 San Francisco International Wine Competition

Chateau Grand Traverse Dry Riesling 2006, $10.25: Medium straw in color, with some subtle floral and lime nuances that adorn the green apple aromatics, and as this opens and warms in the glass, an unmistakable note of lanolin emerges; these impressions all follow through nicely on the palate, underscored with good minerality and driven along by excellent acidity on a medium to medium-full bodied frame. The lanolin, usually an attribute more associated with white Rhones, doesn't exactly dominate the personality of the wine, but it does set a tone and adds a distinctive characteristic. One of the three best dry Rieslings from Michigan that we've had to date, and an excellent QPR (Quality Price Ratio) value.
Gold Medal - 2007 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition, CA
Bronze Medal - 2007 San Francisco International Wine Competition

Chateau Grand Traverse Ship of Fools 2006, $13.87: 40% Pinot Blanc, 35% Pinot Gris, 25% Chardonnay. One of Sean O'Keefe's specialty wines, sporting an individualized label with a humorous etching, this whole cluster pressed medium straw offers tart green apple and grapefruit flavors and aromas underscored with a nice chalky minerality and subtle herbal undertones; medium to medium-full bodied, bone dry and yet rich at the same time, with excellent intensity, and good acidity and length on the finish.

Chateau Grand Traverse Pinot Noir Reserve 2004, $12.31: An even lighter ruby garnet color than the Limited Bottling Gamay, with a fragrant cherry, berry and plum personality; medium bodied, rich and round. Pretty nice stuff; saw all French oak, about 20% new, 20% 1st year, 20% 2nd year, 20% 3rd year and 20% 4th year.  About this one, CGT Specialty Winemaker Sean O'Keefe explained, "We've been moving to older oak; we used to do all new oak and it just couldn't handle it."

Cheers,

The Winebuys Guy