2007 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay

I recently took my son to a Foster's Freeze. It's a California-thing, so check out the link if you need enlightenment (and a cool, old-school marketing jingle). Otherwise, just know that it is a soft-serve ice-cream, hotdog and burger establishment established in CA in the 1940s just after WWII.

http://www.fostersfreeze.com/

While I was enjoying a soft serve cone and watching my son devour an Oreo Twister (ice cream with Oreo "twisted" in), I noticed that the restaurant still had an original and operational white porcelain drinking fountain mounted on the wall. This simple fixture brought a smile to my face as I realized that Foster's made the decision to enable its customers to drink water without paying any money or the need for plastic cups or water bottles that briefly serve a purpose and then choke our local landfills for 2-3,000 years.

While I realize this epiphany could be a sign of a drug flashback, early onset dementia or a genetic chemical imbalance, it made me nonetheless realize that change isn't always progress. And why does it cost me less to buy a new power drill then to buy a replacement battery for my old one? Why does a new washing machine cost about what I pay to have a repair man fix my old one twice? We are a disposable society that seems to have forgotten some of the simple pleasures of a generation or so ago. Speaking of a generation or so ago...

Two years before George Foster was opening his first restaurant in Inglewood, CA in 1946, Mick and Katé Brajkovich resettled from Croatia to the small commune of Kumeu outside of Aukland on New Zealand's North Island. Ever since that time, the Brajkovich family has been dedicated to excellence in viticulture and winemaking. Their pioneering endeavors and three and a half score of fortitude has enabled them to produce some of the finest Chardonnays in the world. They have motivated me to replace California Chardonnay almost entirely in my small wine cellar with the crisp, clean, ripe, minerally gems they produce year after year after year. Years ago, many California Chardonnays weren't adulterated by too much new oak aging, but alas those days are behind us. But not so with the Chardonnays being produced by Kumeu River.

Their 2007 Estate Chardonnay is about $30 and rivals any Chardonnays I have enjoyed in the last few years, many of which retailed for $50-$100 or more. Kumeu River's quality has been good for as long as I have known them, but in the last 3-5 vintages I believe their quality continues to reach new heights despite my contention that they have already reached the pinnacle.

The first thing new world Chardonnay drinkers will notice is the acidity, which provides awesome structure to the wine and makes it refreshing and perfect with a number of foods that California Chardonnays should avoid with their figurative 10-foot heavy toast, new French oak poles. The wine has oak notes, but they merely co-exist humbly with zesty ripe fruit, floral notes and minerality. Together with the aforementioned acidity, this wine will age gloriously for 6-10 years.

My vocabulary only allows me to begin to do this wine justice. At this price, this wine is a frickin' steal, plain and simple. And to stay true to the theme of this blog, if you went on a date with this wine, it would open the car door for you, pull out your chair, call you ma'am and plant a gentle, respectful kiss on your cheek at the end of the evening - at least, that's what would happen on your first date. Or in slightly different terms, this is the wine your mother would approve of you dating.

http://www.kumeuriver.co.nz/index.htm

About 1,000 cases were imported into the U.S. by Wilson Daniels.
http://www.wilsondaniels.com/

RouteStock 2007 Pinot Noir

This little sweetheart from Oregon's Willamette Valley is small town girl moves to the big city and reminds us of charm and simple pleasures that we shouldn't take for granted. Think of her as Laura Ingalls, before she got older, moved to Hollywood, got breast implants, became the President of SAG and was one irreconcilable marital problem away from being a serious cougar.

But this wine has serious provenance. Luisa Ponzi, daughter of pioneer, guru winemaker Dick Ponzi, lends her talents to the everyday value that is an approachable, honest value perfect for our desire to find greater value in this more uncertain world. Luisa spends most of her time making some of Oregon's, and some might argue some of the world's finest Pinot Noir. Fortunately she took some of her limited spare time to craft a wine offering exceptional value that is both delicious and satisfying.

The recent woes of the wine industry have turned many wine veterans on their head. Many wineries whose value proposition was never legit, sold case after case of overpriced wine to an over-zealous, over-exhuberant wine consumer. Now that many of us have had to re-examine our spending habits and be smarter shoppers, the search for greater value wines was inevitable.

Ponzi has been creating value wines, including their $60+ Reserve Pinot Noir which has been a benchmark in Oregon for years and years and given its quality still qualifies as great value. Now, by lending their expertise to the folks behind RouteStock, they continue to provide exceptional value to wine consumers.

RouteStock Willamette Valley Pinot Noir exhibits cherry, sage, violet and vanilla flavors and medium-low acidity wine that is equal to wines costing 50% more. At about $19, this wine is exceptional. Buy it by the case and make this charming Oregon lass your everday Pinot Noir.

FRENZY Marlbrough Sauvignon Blanc 2008

The FRENZY 2009 Sauvignon Blanc will never convince anyone it is worthy of a place on a Reserve list at a four-star restaurant, so in my terms, it isn't marriage material. But it is a simple, fun, honest wine that is capable of pairing with simple dishes. I paired it tonight with a mild chipotle lime grilled chicken breast and mixed green salad and it was the perfect dinner companion.

It was not a companion I would compare to Jessica Biel, but I would compare it to the girl next door - fun to hang out with, not trying too hard to impress, just wants to have fun.

The "NZ" in FRENZY denotes its place of origin, but also shows that this wine has no preconceptions or misgivings about being anything more than an approachable, quaffable (crap, did I really use that word) ok, gulpable wine that will not deter you from having a great night. It will not draw attention to itself, it will only play a capable supporting role with humility and pleasure.

Having tapas, fish tacos, grilled seafood or chicken for dinner? Pick up a bottle of FRENZY Sauvignon Blanc and relax...unless you are completely inept in the kitchen, this wine can't fix that.

Biserno Toscana IGT 2006

Under normal circumstances, the phrase “I’ve had her older sisters, now I’m just waiting for her to come of age” should make you uncomfortable. But don’t jump to conclusions too soon. I am finding myself giddy with anticipation, which is far better than being giddy with constipation, over the upcoming release of what is sure to be the next big thing – the flagship wine from Tenuta di Biserno.

Lodovico and Piero Antinori formed a partnership to create amazing red wines from the Tuscan coast – near Bolgheri, think Super Tuscans. In successive years gone by, the Super Tuscans of Lodovico Antinori (Ornellaia) and Piero Antinori (Solaia) won Wine Spectator’s elusive Wine of the Year designations – how’d you like to grow up in their family with aspirations of becoming a dentist – “why can’t you be more like your brothers you deadbeat?” By the way, in Italy Antinori is like Mondavi is in the United States, it is synonymous with fine wine.

Now, fast forward about a decade and we find the two of them working together on a new venture. Think, Ferrari and Lamborghini partnering to create a new roadster, or perhaps more on point, Michelangelo and Raphael collaborating on a mural.

The venture has produced some fantastic wines to date: Il Pino, $75+ (Cabernet Franc led Bordeaux blend that reminds me of Julia Roberts – a great big smile), Coronato $70+ (a silky, seductive Cabernet Sauvignon led Bordeaux blend that reminds me of Sharon Stone in Fatal Attraction) and Insoglio $30 (in-SOL-ee-oh, a tweaked-out Bordeaux blend with a healthy addition of Syrah that reminds me of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s – hard to take too serious, but you want to hang out with her day after day after day). I've had all of the previously released wines mentioned above and I was left satisfied, but wanting more. Reminds me of a time I spent in High School in the backseat of my parents Oldsmobile. I was alone, but ahhh the memories. Get your mind out of the gutter, it was the first time I had a Ding Dong!

The forementioned vinous progenitors were simply whetting our appetite for the flagship wine to come, and that day is almost here. The wine will simply and aptly be called “Biserno” in homage of the land on which it is grown. The wine will be a Bordeaux blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with trace amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. I wish I could tell you how much I loved having this wine, but I am not so lucky. Along with the rest of the world, I won’t be able to experience this beauty until the end of 2009. So for now, I shall liken this wine to Emma Watson, the blossoming actress that portrays Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films – growing up before our eyes, getting more beautiful every day and soon to reach maturity and receive the praise and admiration she so deserves. Also, I anticipate this wine will possess a little bit of magic, STUPEFY!

For now, I will be saving my pennies (and dollars) in my Hermione-themed piggybank so that I may be able to buy a bottle of this soon to be completed masterpiece. I just hope that when she’s ready, she is cool with older men.

Domaine Morey-Blanc Aloxe Corton Clos du Chapitre 2003

Ever meet someone with a name that was hard to pronounce, but that inspired you to practice until you got it right because you thought they were totally hot? I lived a pretty insular life through High School and I remember being exposed to (or exposing myself to) a great diversity of beautiful people that seemed exotic to me, if for no other reason than I was raised in a somewhat impermeable incubator full of pasty, incestuous, xenophobes whose primary fault was that they simply didn't heed the 'Carpe Diem' battle cry when they declared the Dead Poets Society to be life-changing.

Up until very recently, Red Burgundy was not something I appreciated as much as it deserves. The main driver of this is a simple lack of exposure. When I was younger and my resources were more meager, my access to Red Burgundy was of the "hearty" varietal. My mom often included this Hearty Burgundy in the weekly stew I ate growing up, but this qualifies me as an expert on Red Burgundy about as well as reading Old Man and the Sea qualified me to be a Geriatic Encologist.

Initial explorations of the Cote de Nuits with travel guides such as Jadot, Faiveley and Louis Latour piqued my interest. Further investment of time and money negated any doubts I had about a linear relationship existing between price and quality. If you don't agree, then I encourage you to drop a couple thousand dollars on a wide range of Bourgogne, Village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines from the Cote D'Or and think again.

My palate was raised in the New World. As a result, I have less of an appreciation for French terroir and more of an appreciation for french fries. Also, my friends typically give me the stink-eye when I try to explain to them the advantages of subtleties found in a deftly guided old world wine v. the brashness found in a heavy-handed, strip the enamel off your teeth and flesh off your ovula higher-octane equivalent from California or Australia.

But I reflect on a time when Pamela Anderson was thought by many as the best thing going. Her over-the-top (literally) appeal was compelling, yet fleeting. I think the same will be true for many of these unnatural wines that were not made in mother nature's viticultural uterus, but were tweezed, tucked, sucked, augmented and waxed to sing in a glass for a few brief moments in time. If you ask me, their time is up.

The 2003 vintage was quite warm in Burgundy, as it was throughout many wine regions. It was so warm, that riper wines were made in France than one would expect, conveniently providing many liberals with the perfectly appropriate, sufficiently aged, palatable libation for their "Al Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize" celebrations. If global warming is making Old World wines more attractive to the uncivilized West, than this indeed is an inconvenient truth. But the good news is that there is a better way to appreciate Red Burgundy than inventing the NASCAR Hummer Circuit and waiting another 50 years for the greenhouse gasses to do their dirty deed. It's called drinking, though pious bleeding hearts would call it education and exposure, as education and exposure lead to appreciation and tolerance. It only took me three rounds of water-boarding to memorize that mantra.

For your consideration, I present exhibit number one - Morey-Blanc's 2003 Aloxe Corton. Savor the way the plush mouthfeel caresses your tongue. Enjoy all that this wine has to offer - cherry blossums, plums, new leather and cocoa; but notice how the underlying mineral and damp earth persist. This is the perfect wine to give less-than-fully enlightened people (such as me) a better appreciation for Red Burgundy - not because it is a freakish meterological anomaly, but because it presents the merits of a more sophiticated product in an easy-to-appreciate and understand format. The 2003 vintage screams what it typically whispers. And if you have had a hard time appreciating wines like this in the past, the message will be clearer to you after this revelationary tutorial, because this wine will help you understand what to listen for.

If you are feeling generous, grab a few friends and open a bottle of your favorite Russian River Valley or Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir to serve as an enlightening foil for the intellectual virtues of a truly divine 2003 Premier Cru such as this lovely example. Or call me, I'll be your friend for a night.

Grant Burge "The Holy Trinity" GSM Barossa Valley 2003

Koo-koo-ka-choo, Mrs. Robinson?

It started innocently enough. I was having what was sure to be a lovely evening with a 2005 Miamba Vineyard Shiraz from Grant Burge - a benchmark producer of the Barossa Valley in Australia. We were sharing a dinner of maple-mustard glazed pork tenderloin, garlic-herb mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus with olive oil and sea salt. But my Miamba Shiraz, shall we call her Elaine Robinson?, which I had enjoyed a splendid evening with the night before, was upstaged by one sultry Mrs. Robinson in the form of Grant Burge's 2003 Holy Trinity GSM (Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre). A blend that hails from the esteemed Rhone Valley in Southern France, this GSM is not likely to be mistaken for a Rhone beauty, but that is not meant to dis' this enchantress by any means. The name "The Holy Trinity" lets you know just how revered this blend is to some. This Mrs. Robinson was HOT and side-by-side with her daughter, showed how a few more years can add intrigue, sophistication and provocative sexiness.

Before I move on, I must let you know that the 2005 Miamba Shiraz is a wine that should hold her head up high. A fun, lively mouthfeel, fresh, fruity and floral aromas and a mouthfeel brimming with raspberry, cherry and spice, this chica will find her stud in due time. But, this night was about me playing the role of Ben Braddock opposite my newly discovered Mrs. Robinson. Perhaps a purebred Shiraz should not naively be compared to a GSM, but since there are world class examples of each, I do not think it is unfair. I began the evening innocently enough, but I developed a thirst that Elaine couldn't satisfy and I had a figurative Mrs. Robinson in the Holy Trinity ready to satiate my most primal desires.

The Holy Trinity is an accomplished temptress. While it shows adequate fruit characteristics with its black cherry, raspberry and plum that more youthful counterparts flaunt with adolescent indifference, it goes a step further with pepper spice, wet stone minerality and admirable balance which is why this wine possesses worldly sophistication that younger wines never will.

The Holy Trinity was not simply an object of my desire for an evening, it was a seductive hellcat that relegated me to schoolboy status and taught me lessons I won't soon forget. And it taught me these lessons over and over again for several lust-filled, sensual, erotic hours of debauchery that left me exhausted, yet fulfilled. So to Grant Burge, the maker of The Holy Trinity, Koo-koo-ka-choo! You have demonstrated that you know the difference between a nice impression and a torrid obsession. Consider me a Graduate of your school of winemaking.

Domaine Bouchard Pere & Fils Beaune du Chateau Premier Cru 2005

My friend set me up on a date with this French babe. Surprisingly, she showed up with a small bandage on her nose, but this was soon forgotten as the date began with a friendly kiss on the cheek, the type of kiss that Europeans plant freely on a single cheek (two cheeks in Italy) in an optimistic, "your my friend until you give me reason to think otherwise" fashion . Ah France. Venture outside of Paris and you'll discover a spirit so soothing, so inviting you'll never want to return home to your four bedroom, three bath, tract house that is 20% underwater (financially speaking) where you and your rottweiler Ozzy watch Ultimate Fighting on your 60" plasma screen in Dolby Digital surround sound. Wait a second, that's not a convincing enough case for France, but replace that housing and pet scenario with one of your own and you get the point. France is a magical place and wine is a fundamental part of their fabric. In America, we have turned wine into a consumer product or status symbol. Wine in France is part of their history, culture and soul. It is their equivalent of apple pie or a double quarter pounder with cheese - it's just a normal part of their day, it just doesn't clog your arteries, induce Diabetes and make you morbidly obese.

How many dates have you been on where you were consumed with the question "will I get a good night kiss?" The disarming effect of opening a date with a kiss is beyond refreshing and so it was with the Beaune du Chateau 2005. Being a Premier Cru red Burgundy, the wine is 100% Pinot Noir. Drinking a 2005 red Burgundy is very American insomuch as it shows a lack of patience required to wait the 5 to 20 years a skillfully crafted red Burgundy warrants. Nonetheless, the wine planted a surprisingly revealing kiss at the onset of our date, just short of a little tongue. But in a surprising turn of events, it became a bit prude and reserved in a defiant statement letting me know I would need to earn anything further.

Have I ever mentioned that I have no opposition to plastic surgery in moderation? Well, as I mentioned, my date, who was absolutely lovely, had a small bandage across her nose, concealing a small scar from a recent nose job. Self-improvement to improve one's self esteem is fine. But bandage, or in this case band-aid, is the term I always use to describe brettanomyces (brett). It gives wine a smell of band-aid in varying degrees of magnitude. It is often found in old-world wines and in small doses is perfectly acceptable. Like the bandage concealing a nose job, it doesn't bother me. In new world wines, I never believe brett is acceptable and it is becoming less and less acceptable in old world wines. But in Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhone and Tuscany I am still tolerant of a little "band-aid" aroma or flavor in wine as long as it doesn't dominate the wine or mask the more desirable characteristics.

In this case, the wine's other redeeming qualities were revealed over time. Truth be told, it took until the second date (I corked the wine realizing it was too young and revisited it two nights later) for this wine to sing. Fresh notes of cherry and herb, together with minerality, mushroomy earthiness and light hints of coffee were enveloped in a perfect amount of acidity. The mouthfeel was pleasant, slightly lush and sensual, but mostly I found it refreshing - the kind of mouthfeel that makes you want to take another sip or perhaps a bite of food. I love a wine that has a mouthfeel typical of its region and appropriate to the grape variety. This wine is an excellent reminder of why I feel this way. You won't get elegance and restraint like this from a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. The Russian River is plush velvet at its best, Burgundy is cool silk. This wine is cool silk in the mouth.

In conclusion, this wine reminds me of why I love red Burgundy. Is it the best red Burgundy I have had? Absolutely not. It's not even the best I have had this year, but it is an approachable wine, an excellent example of Burgundy terroir and builds a darn strong case against the homogenization of wine resulting from winemakers chasing high scores via ultraripe, manipulated wines. All things considered, I consider it a value Premier Cru and at about $50 a bottle retail, that is saying a lot. I would love to have dinner with this beauty again in another 5 years, assuming I can afford more than the aforementioned double quarter pounder with cheese if my 401K has unexpectedly fallen so much that its NAV is negative and somehow left me with a large liability I didn't see coming because, like my mortgage, I didn't fully understand what all that fine print meant.