B.R. Guest

A while ago I had an older bottle of B.R. Cohn Cabernet Sauvignon and it stuck with me. So when we passed the winery on the way to our Sonoma rental in Glen Ellen this past week, I had to add them to our agenda. The estate property, called Olive Hill Vineyards, includes about 90 acres of vines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and a small amount of Malbec. The Special Select Cabernet Sauvignon is only made during exceptional years from 3 acres of bush vines in the front of the property that yield only about 1.5 tons of grapes per acre (this is not a lot). The Cab is dark and sultry when young and really opens up with proper aging.

I enjoyed all the reds, which had nice acidity and overall balance - Pinot Noir with berry fruit and vanilla, spicy Zinfandel with peppercorn and clove, Cabernet Franc with blue and black berries, and cinnamon-berry Malbec.

But the grand finale for me was the Late Harvest Semillon, made with grapes from Russian River Valley. Botrytis spice balanced the sweet honey and apricot flavors in this Sauternes-style dessert wine that brought me back to my sorting days at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard.

I felt quite welcome as a guest of the B.R.Cohn family that day and also enjoyed their delicious side projects - olive oil, vinegar, and wine-infused concoctions.

Side note:

To filter or not to filter

One of the last steps in winemaking is usually filtering. When I worked at Wiemer, we used either the superfine cross flow filter or a pad filter for the wines made in smaller quantities. In winemaking you have to make some small sacrifices throughout the process. Each time you move the wine you risk exposing it to air, and inevitably each time you move it you risk losing a bit of its character, whether it be aroma, color, or flavor. Filtering is one of those steps that some winemakers would consider optional. The reason for filtering is to rid the wine of any bacteria or yeast that might remain in the wine and to ensure a “clean” wine before bottling. At Wiemer, where we made wines that often had some residual sugar left in them, filtering was necessary to ensure the yeast was completely removed from the wine. If any yeast remained, it could feed off the sugar and start another fermentation in the bottle, which at the very least might make the wine sparkle a bit, but at the worst it might cause the bottle to burst from the excess carbon dioxide and pressure.

Newton Vineyard in Napa was founded on the principle of unfiltered wines. Dr. Su Hua Newton, the first Asian female winemaker, began making unfiltered Chardonnay in the late 70s and then added the red Bordeaux varietals – Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Her husband, Peter Newton, had been the first to plant Merlot in Napa when he worked for Sterling Vineyards, and the Newtons were one of the first to plant Petit Verdot in Napa. Dr. Newton built a state of the art winery between 1977 and 1979, with gravity flow and 30 feet of underground tunnels in the hills of Spring Mountain. The Newton vineyards are the only ones on the southern side of Spring Mountain, whose steep slopes and volcanic soil contribute to small concentrated berries and softened tannins. The winemaking process involves hand picking only the ripe fruit, which means they skip over the unripe fruit and go back to it later, making multiple passes through the vineyard until all the fruit is picked. The various pickings are kept separate, vinified in oak barrels in separate, temperature-controlled rooms. Then, the wines undergo aggressive “battonage” every day for 6 months – this means that after the fermentation has been complete (after a couple weeks), a long baton is inserted into the barrel to agitate the lees (dead yeast cells) that have fallen to the bottom. This action contributes a certain flavor to the wine and is “naturally antibacterial,” helping to “clean” the wine so the impurities settle out to the bottom. It’s similar to the process of riddling for sparkling wine, where the lees from the second fermentation in the bottle are forced to the neck of the bottle by a partial turn each day for 3 weeks, acting like a squeegee along the inside of the bottle until they are eventually disgorged. After the 6-month battonage, the clean wine – 85% of the barrel - is pumped out (this part is not done by gravity) and the remaining 15% of wine and solids is discarded. That amounts to about 4 cases of wine lost from this process - a significant loss but one preferred to the potential loss of color and aroma from machine filtering. The wine is then bottled and labeled “unfiltered.”

Views from Newton Vineyard

So does unfiltered wine taste better? Can you tell the difference? Newton wine still looks clear and clean. I tasted 4 wines paired with small bites from the Domaine Chandon gardens in Napa and their onsite restaurant, Etoile (Newton Vineyard is now owned by LVMH, the parent company of Moet & Chandon).  The 2009 Unfiltered Chardonnay was creamy with butterscotch and crème brulee notes. It wasn’t overpowered by oak and it went deliciously well with a spoonful of English pea soup accompanied by dungeness crab and meyer lemon. The 2008 Unfiltered Merlot had bright red fruit, black pepper and other spices, nice acidity, and grippy tannins that would soften with a bit more age. It went fabulously with a bite of tea smoked duck. The 2009 Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon had great black fruit that almost tasted sweet and again nice acidity and tannin that would lend well to further aging. The last wine was their Bordeaux blend that they call “The Puzzle” because of the shape of the vineyard blocks that it is sourced from. The 2008 Puzzle is made of 42% Merlot, 36% Cab Sauv, 14% Cab Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec. It was silky, smooth and complex and went great with the heirloom beet salad.

The last bonus wine was a 2002 Unfiltered Merlot from a Magnum bottle, which holds the equivalent of 2 regular bottles and is a better format for aging wine because of the reduced exposure to oxygen. This wine was musky and floral with additional characteristics of beets and lead pencil. It had great balance and structure and was very smooth. After recently enjoying the Newton 1991 Unfiltered Merlot and now trying the current releases, it was awesome to taste a wine right in the middle.

Now back to the question, to filter or not to filter? I can’t say I would be able to tell the difference unless I had the same wine in filtered and unfiltered form side by side. Winemaking is a combination of art and science, and I tend to gravitate toward wines made with the least manipulation. And as a former winemaker, knowing how the wine is made makes me appreciate and enjoy it more.

Corkscrew trees and the garden atop the wine caves

Wine & Spirits' Grand Tasting

Last month my friend Oskar visited from the Finger Lakes and invited me to join him at the Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting, honoring the San Francisco-based magazine's chosen top 100 wineries of the year. Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard was honored for the 3rd year in a row, and I got to accompany Oskar as a representative of the winery. Going to industry tastings is always more fun with 2 people - you can share the responsibility of pouring the wine while having the chance to walk around and taste the other wines.

The best part was the Champagne and oysters section on the veranda of City View at METREON in downtown/SoMa San Francisco - great views and delicious indulgences. I tried Dom Perignon for the first time (it was ok; I've had better for cheaper) and sampled some other great names like Louis Roederer.

In the Riesling family, in addition to Wiemer's 2010 Gewurztraminer and 2009 Late Harvest Riesling, wines that I proudly helped produce, I enjoyed Joh. Jos. Prum's 2009 Mosel Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese (Germany), a similar style to our Late Harvest Riesling, and Loimer's 2009 Kamptal Reserve Langenlois Steinmassl Riesling and 2010 Kamptal Gruner Veltliner (Austria). I love this simple green label:

Again I sampled R. Lopez de Heredia's 1993 Rioja Reserva Vina Tondonia Blanco, the white Rioja I first had at San Francisco Wine Center over the summer; this is such an interesting wine. I also had their 2001 Rioja Reserva Vina Tondonia Tinto, the red version. Delicious Spanish wines.

Other notable reds included Leonetti Cellar's 2008 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 Walla Walla Valley Merlot. I've had older Leonetti vintages and they have been divine, so it was nice to try the current releases and see what the wine is like in its youth. I also enjoyed Achaval-Ferrer's 2008 La Consulta Uco Valley Finca Altamira Malbec. I visited this winery during my trip to Mendoza last year but I hadn't tried this single vineyard Malbec.

I had fun bumping into Mary Burnham and Jordan Mackay, wine writers and instructors at SFWC wine school.

And as always, it was great pouring Wiemer to adoring fans from around the country.

Other coverage:
http://www.vinography.com/archives/2011/10/whats_your_best_wine_tasting_t.html

Old World vs. New World

This week's class at San Francisco Wine Center was a comparison of Old World (Europe) and New World (everywhere else) wines, and I donated a sample of Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling 2009 to the cause! The 2009 Dry Riesling was recently released, and I am very proud of this wine because I helped make it during my time working at Wiemer. I sorted the grapes, monitored the fermentation, racked the wine, contributed my sensory opinion in putting together the final blend from our 3 Riesling vineyard sites, filtered, bottled and labeled it. Last night, we pinned it against a German Kabinett Riesling from the Rheingau and I thought the Wiemer showed fantastically. I was excited to share this wine with the other employees at the SFWC and the students in the class.

The rest of the comparisons were interesting and intriguing:

Elegant white Burgundy led the way for creamy California Chardonnay:
Olivier Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Folatières 1er Cru 2009 (Cote de Beaune, Burgundy) vs. Deovlet Soloman Hills Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay 2009 (Santa Barbara, CA)

Delicate Pinots from Burgundy and Oregon stumped many:
Erath Estate Selection Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2008 (Oregon) vs. Domaine Jacques Prieur Beaune Champs-Pimont 1er Cru 2008 (Cote de Beaune, Burgundy)

Popular Argentine Malbec found its roots in Cahors, France:
Château du Cèdre Cahors 2007 (Cahors, Southwest France) vs. Norton Malbec Reserva 2007 (Mendoza, Argentina)

Cabernet-dominated Margaux confused the California Cab drinker:
Blason D’Issan Margaux 2007 (Bordeaux, France) vs. Meteor Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Napa Valley, CA)

Updates on my favorite Argentine wine - Los Vencejos

The Los Vencejos Aleteo 2006 is now available! This Reserve Tempranillo from Argentina spent 2 years in barrel and 2 years in bottle before release. I blogged/raved about it in February when I tried it. It's $22/btl and available at www.losvencejos.com.

Also, the delicious Los Vencejos Malbec 2007 is on sale for $18/btl. Remember this one got 90 points from Wine Spectator. A steal now and definitely one for the table and the cellar. Salud!

Argentina, Chile, Uruguay: My Wine Awards

I drank a lot of wine in South America! So I thought I'd wrap up the trip with a recap of my favorites. It can be tough for me to choose favorites since I believe wine-drinking is very circumstantial, but I tried my hardest to find my top picks. I've paid homage to the signature grapes of each country plus my other favorites in the major color categories. And I've rated my best food pairings and wine experiences in each country.

ARGENTINA
Fave Malbec: Colome Malbec Estate 2007
Fave Torrontes: Miraflor 2009
Fave other Red: Los Vencejos Aleteo 2006 (Tempranillo)
Fave Rose: Melipal Malbec Rose 2009
Fave Dessert wine: San Pedro de Yacochuya Late Harvest Torrontes 2007
Fave wine/food pairing: O. Fournier Urban Uco Sauvignon Blanc 2009 with steak tartar
Fave overall wine experience: Barrel sampling at Los Vencejos

CHILE
Fave Carmenere: J. Bouchon Carmenere Reserva Especial 2007
Fave other Red: Casa Marin Pinot Noir Lo Abarca Vineyard 2006
Fave Rose: J. Bouchon Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2009
Fave White: Casa Marin Gewurztraminer 2009
Fave Dessert wine: Errazuriz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Fave wine/food pairing: Errazuriz Merlot 2007 with pastel de choclo
Fave overall wine experience: J. Bouchon Winery and Mingre Lodge excursion

URUGUAY
Fave Tannat: Bouza Tannat A6 2007
Fave other Red: Alto de la Ballena Merlot-CabFranc-Tannat 2006
Fave Rose: Alto de la Ballena CabFranc-Tannat Rose 2008
Fave White: Stagnari Chardonnay 2009
Fave wine/food pairing: Bouza Chardonnay 2008 with creamy spinach ravioli

Fave overall wine experience: Wine tasting and barrel sampling at Alto de la Ballena

Thanks for following my journey! If anyone ever tries any of the wines I tried please feel free to leave a comment with your impressions.

Oh, Fournier

Back in the province of Mendoza we visited the impressive property of Spanish implant O. Fournier, just down the road from Los Vencejos in La Consulta, Uco Valley. The ultra modern facility has 3 levels and is gravity-driven. The grapes are received on the 2nd level and sorted into large tanks that live on the 1st level. The 3rd level has the lab and tasting room, which is equipped with a dentist-style sink around the table for cleaner tastings. The huge cellar doubles as an art gallery, which seems to be a trend down here. There is also, of course, a restaurant. We had our best wine lunch yet at O. Fournier.

First course was some amazing steak tartar, the best I've ever had. The steak was chopped really small with scallions mixed in. This went really well with the Urban Uco Sauvignon Blanc 2009, which had smooth flavors of pineapple and lemon. Next was a delicious corn soup that complemented the Urban Uco Torrontes 2009, which had classic aromas/flavors of orange blossom and musk.

For our main courses Peter got veal ragout with potatoes and truffle oil and I had ginger lemon risotto. The veal was great with O. Fournier's Alpha Crux 2002, a blend of 60%Tempranillo, 35%Malbec and 5%Merlot, which was a heavy, oaky wine with dark fruit, vanilla, and meaty flavors. It got 93 points from Wine Spectator and sells for US$110 a bottle. It was a good wine, no doubt, but heavy.

The risotto was resilient, matching well with the Urban Uco line of wines: the aforementioned Sauvignon Blanc and Torrontes, as well as the Tempranillo 2007, which had really nice red berry fruit. It also went well with the B Crux 2003, a blend of 60%Tempranillo, 20%Malbec, 10%Merlot and 10%Syrah, which was unfiltered and had luscious flavors of red fruit, spice, and dark chocolate. It got 91 points from Wine Spectator and sells for US$55 a bottle. The B Crux was my favorite wine of the tasting.

For dessert, there were 2. First was a melon sorbet that made me wonder why I don't like honeydew more. It was so ripe and refreshing. Second was a somewhat bizarre coffee/chocolate ravioli with ice cream and orange jam. It went great with the Torrontes and the Alpha Crux, but the best part was the translation. In Spanish they called it "Pasta de cafe rellena de chocolate con helado de reduccion de leche y coulis de naranja," which in English was described as "Raviolis of coffee released of chocolate cream and milk reduction ice cream and orange coulis." We are still laughing about this! Released of chocolate...

A delicious, memorable lunch. We enjoyed all the wines and dishes. Felicitaciones, O. Fournier!

The future of the Andes

Our last day in Cafayate, we visited a winery right in town called Porvenir de los Andes - the Future of the Andes. We toured and tasted with the winemaker, and while we are concerned that the intense heat and lack of water in the Salta area of Argentina makes the future of winemaking there slightly questionable, he does not anticipate a problem anytime soon. (He really believes in the winery's name!) Unfortunately I didn't take notes during this tasting, and I neglected to write my impressions down afterwards, so I can't be too specific but I do recall that I liked all the wines. The Torrontes was classic and the reds were intense, flavorful, and smooth. I do remember that their spittoons were unlike any I'd seen before - instead of being empty they were filled with oak shavings, so you didn't make a mess when using them, and the scent of the oak was a nice palate refresher in between wines. Also, we confirmed an interesting practice in the making of rose, and I think it probably holds true for other parts of Argentina and Chile as well: many wineries "bleed" off a percentage of their fermenting red grape juice to allow the remaining juice to have maximum contact with the skins during fermentation, resulting in a more intense extraction of color, flavor, and structural components; we suspect that many roses originate from this bleed, or sangria.

Road less traveled to Colome

In the Salta province of Argentina, we set out to visit Bodega Colome, launching from Cafayate, the charming town where we were staying. We were about halfway there, enjoying the scenic route up through the mountains alongside the cacti, when we were faced with a choice of 2 directions to take. We opted for the "shorter" way because we were running late, but it was perhaps not the best choice. It was clearly the road less traveled, and for good reason - very narrow, rocky, sandy roads with no pavement in sight. At one point we almost got stuck in a sand ditch and had to build a rock path to drive over. We gathered rocks and Peter arranged them just so, building up the sand with 2 lanes of rocks so he could drive over the ditch. Once we built our bridge I directed him to ensure he stayed on the rock path, and after just 2 tries Peter got us out! We were so relieved. The next obstacle was a bit of mud and marsh, and again, 2 possible directions, but Peter assessed the situation and determined the best path, concluding that the mud was solid enough that we wouldn't get stuck. From here we could almost see Colome up in the hills. Then finally we made it there, 2200 meters above sea level, a mere 1 hour late for our appointment.

Thankfully, it was worth it! I really liked the wines here. The whites were flavorful and crisp. The reds were super concentrated but had really good flavors and complexity. All the wines here had a chalky minerality that we hadn't noticed in wines from Mendoza. This could be attributed to the rocky mountain soil. Colome has 2 additional vineyard sites besides the 2200m one we visited with the winery, and one of them is 3015 meters above sea level - the highest vineyard in the world, they say. The altitude helps cool things down in this very hot region of Argentina.

The wines:

*Mystery white: a mystery because the vines are so old and have morphed a few times from cloning, so they don't know exactly what they are. To me it tasted like Sauvignon Blanc, with gooseberry, asparagus, and jalapeno pepper.

*Torrontes 2009: at first vanilla and banana candy, then classic orange blossom as it warmed up in the glass. Different from the Torrontes we'd had so far, but interesting, and smooth with good acid.

*Amalaya 2007: a blend of mostly Malbec with some Cab Sauv and a little bit of something I can't remember. Cranberry and spice, good body and smooth tannin, my favorite of the tasting.
*Malbec Estate 2007: 85%Malbec, 8%Tannat, 5%Cab Sauv, 2%Syrah. Pure blackberry fruit, bright with firm tannin.
*Syrah 2007: a wine only available at the winery and served in their hotel's restaurant, it was pretty special with cassis, blackberry jam and a hint of cured meat. Firm tannin and almost 16% alcohol! A wine that should come with a 1-glass max. warning.

Colome is biodynamic and produces 900,000 liters of wine per year from 150 hectares of planted vines. All their supplies and equipment come from Mendoza, so everything makes that rocky, uphill climb through the Andes. There is a beautiful hotel on the property, and we now realize why. After all those bumps and jumps you totally want to take a nice long siesta. But our trip was just 3 hours, so we about-faced and took the road more traveled with no snafus. Muchas gracias to Peter for getting us there and back, no worse for the wear!

Another ridiculously good looking lunch

The Park Hyatt Mendoza looks like it should be a fancy government building, and it has a great terrace overlooking the main town square. Peter and I had lunch there when we got back from BA and it was another ridiculously good looking lunch. We got the 12-sampler tasting menu with a glass of wine each; Peter got the Alta Vista Torrontes 2009 and I got the Melipal Malbec Rose 2009.

The Torrontes was classic with musk and orange blossom. The producer has property right behind Peter in La Consulta, but the Torrontes comes from Salta. We've been trying to figure out why Torrontes isn't more popular and I thought maybe it is difficult to match with food. But it went well with many of the dishes we had, including sweetbreads, blue cheese w. honey, parmesan w. paprika, and fried calamari.

The Malbec rose had a smoky nose of cured meat and red berry. It was more fuller bodied and deeper in color than most roses I've had. It had good acidity and went with a lot of the dishes, most notably the grilled shrimp, salmon carpaccio and beef carpaccio.

Another day in Mendoza, another slothful lunch... or so I don't feel so guilty about it... another exercise in wine and food pairing.

Wine in BsAs

We drank some great wine in Buenos Aires last week. Most notable was the 1998 Montchenot from Bodegas Lopez in Mendoza. It was a blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot and Malbec. The alcohol was only 12.5%, which is low for this area (and nice to see). This wine was beautiful and elegant. Because of the age it was well-developed and super smooth, with a pretty strawberry pie character. Peter knows this wine and he said it spends a long time in big vats and is not released for several years; it's a traditional Argentine, slightly oxidized style.

Another interesting wine was a Cab Franc from Angelica Zapata (a line from Bodega Catena Zapata). It was fresh and smooth with typical character - green pepper, red fruit - but we realized an even more perfect descriptor as we drank it: beets! As soon as I said it we knew it worked. I'm looking forward to finding this characteristic in future Cab Francs.

Finally we had the 2009 Miraflor Torrontes by Michel Rolland from the Salta region, where we will soon be going. We found it to be very elegant and showing good typicity of the grape. It was very fragrant with pronounced orange blossom. We loved it, and it made us look forward to our pending trip up there!

Barrel Sampling at Los Vencejos

Peter and I went to check on his wine, which is vinified and aged at Finca La Luz in the Uco Valley, south of the city of Mendoza (but still part of the Mendoza wine region). We barrel-sampled his Malbec and Tempranillo, contrasting oak types and ages and getting a sense for how the flavors are developing.

*Malbec 2009 in French first-use oak: black pepper and dark fruit; layers of complexity forming.
*Malbec 2009 in French second-use oak: more pronounced fruit with more elegant body.
*Tempranillo 2009 in American first-use oak: cherry cola and smooth tannin.
*Tempranillo 2009 in French first-use oak: a hint of clove with red cherry.
*Tempranillo 2008 in Hybrid (French and American) first-use oak: clove and baking spices, like mulled cider; evolved into eucalyptus and blackberry jam; very complex and exciting.

All the wines were very tasty and interesting. We were pretty jazzed about the Tempranillo in general because it is very unique (it's a mainstay grape in Spain but here in Argentina it's Malbec most of the time). In a few days we'll be bottling the Tempranillo 2008 and then it will age in bottle for another 2 years.

The 2009s will stay in barrel for at least another year before bottling. If you can't wait that long, Los Vencejos Tempranillo 2007 and Malbec 2007 are available at www.losvencejos.com.

Meat me in Mendoza (Part 2)

After the visit to Achaval Ferrer we had lunch at Norton - but not just any lunch - a 7-course lunch with 7 wines: 3 appetizers, 2 mains, and 2 desserts. It was so ridiculous because we didn't realize it was happening until they brought out the second main and then we figured out that we weren't splitting the tasting menu, we were basically getting all of it. The food was delicious. Fresh salmon ravioli, empanadas, lamb, etc. For the wine pairings they sometimes contrasted regular wines with reserve wines - Chardonnay, Malbec - and interestingly we preferred the regular wines in these cases because they were more fruity and less oaky.

After that we didn't think dinner would be necessary, but we ended up at a wine bar later that night and did a delicious wine and cheese pairing. My favorite pair was the Urraca Familia Langley Blend 2005 - Malbec, Merlot, Cab Sauv - with Sainte-Maure goat cheese, followed by the Enamore Blend 2007 - Malbec, Syrah, Bonarda, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc - with blue cheese sprinkled with black pepper.

Meat me in Mendoza (Part 1)

After a thrilling all-day busride over the Andes, Peter and I reunited and spent the weekend in Mendoza, Argentina, enjoying the meat and Malbec. First up was a really elegant Angelica Zapata 2004 Malbec, a product of the successful Bodega Catena Zapata. Bright fruit with balanced alcohol and acidity made this a treat both with and without the meat.

At a visit to Achaval Ferrer, one of the top Malbec producers, I learned about their very interesting way of de-alcoholizing their wine. They said because of the heat their Malbec gets super ripe and can get up to 17-18% alcohol, which is too high, so to bring it down to a more reasonable 13-14% they have fans blowing over the juice as it is fermenting, helping to evaporate the alcohol. This is fascinating to me. Their yields are very low to concentrate the flavors in the grapes, which explains why the vines looked so sparse as we were driving in - only a few bunches per plant. We also learned that you should age your wine without the foil capsule on it so you can see how the cork is holding up. If you see that you have a leaky cork, better drink the wine!

















We tasted one of Achaval Ferrer's single vineyard Malbecs, Finca Bella Vista, from 2007. This wine goes for over $100 a bottle in the US. It was super concentrated with flavors of blackberry and licorice. They also had a nice blend called Quimera (also 2007) that was Malbec, Merlot, Cab Sauv and Cab Franc. It had a lot of bright red fruit and good structure.

The Maule Moment

It just so happened that I saved my best winery experience in Chile for last. I made an excursion to the J. Bouchon Winery and Mingre Lodge this week in the Maule Valley, 3 hours south of Santiago. Hosted by Julio Bouchon, I learned about the history of the family, the wine, and the land. Maule Valley is the largest wine-producing region geographically, but it is only just beginning to receive recognition for the terroir and the quality wines that result - hence, the Maule moment. In terms of hectares, Bouchon is medium-sized for Chile with 370 hectares planted and 1.8 million liters of wine produced annually. All the grapes from their 3 vineyard sites are hand-picked and sorted at the winery.

In between mountain biking and horseback riding I tasted the complete lineup of wines - 3 whites, 1 rose, and 8 reds. In general the wines are fresh and fruity, with the reds showing a balanced use of French oak, sometimes new and sometimes old. Since I liked them all I have to mention them each briefly:

* Sauvignon Blanc 2009: easy-going, floral, citrusy, light.
* Chardonnay 2009: unoaked so crisp and fruity.
* Las Mercedes Sauvignon Blanc 2007: complex, oaked SB that maintains tropical fruit and acidity.
* Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2009: strawberry, cherry, light and dry.
* Merlot Reserva 2008: strawberry with a black tea finish.
* Carmenere-Syrah Reserva 2008: interesting and unique blend with green pepper, black fruit, some chocolate.
* Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2008: red and black fruits, very juicy with smooth tannins.

The Reserva Especial line is made from the oldest vines - some as old as 80 years!
* Malbec Reserva Especial 2007: strawberry and vanilla with firm tannin.
* Carmenere Reserva Especial 2007: fresh bell pepper nose and red fruit with some spice.
* Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Especial 2007: black fruit, cassis, eucalyptus; very juicy and approachable.

The Blends
* Las Mercedes Ensamblaje 2006: 45%Cab Sauv, 40%Syrah, 15%Malbec. Complex with black fruits, cassis, mint, eucalyptus, raspberry.
* Mingre 2006: 45%Cab Sauv; 15% each Carmenere, Malbec, Syrah; 10%Merlot. Similar to Las Mercedes but with brighter red fruit.

I talked a lot about the Carmenere in Chile, but I should mention that Cabernet Sauvignon is really the main grape and wine in Chile, making up 50% of wine production in Chile. Cab Sauv is not one of my favorite varieties (it is often too heavy and tannic for me) so I don't often focus on it. But, the Cab Sauvs at J. Bouchon were the best I had in Chile and some of the most enjoyable I've had to date. 

Beautiful scenery, outdoor activities, and great wine - a fantastic way to end my stay in Chile.

Alpacas and grapes

On Tuesday the workers at Viña Matetic on the border of the San Antonio and Casablanca Valleys caught their alpacas eating the Chardonnay grapes. I guess this is one of the cons of having an organic winery. Of course one of the pros is that the alpacas, and the sheep and other animals that share the land with the grapes, contribute naturally to the cycle of life in this environment (mostly because their waste is used as fertilizer). Matetic has been certified organic for 4 years and has been working to become biodynamic since 2002. Biodynamic practices are complicated and include 'rituals' like spreading carefully prepared mixtures of manure at certain times throughout the vineyard. Isn't winemaking so romantic?

The Matetic winemaking facility is built into the hills with a lot of large rocks and smooth wood flanking the interior. It is gravity-driven so they don't need to pump the wine from one place to the other. The family Matetic was the first to plant Syrah in the area, in 1999. The Coralillo Syrah 2008 was a gorgeous fuschia color with blackberry, smoke, and roses. The tannins were firm and it could probably use more time in the bottle. Failing that option it may also be great with a steak. The Winemaker's Blend 2007 is 44% Cab Franc, 30% Merlot, and 26% Malbec. It had a spicy cinnamon nose with flavors or black fruit, rose, and caramel. It too would probably benefit from some meat and/or more bottle time.

 

I think I was most excited about seeing the alpacas :) Although it would've been even better to eat some grapes with them.

Tango y Malbec

Upon completion of my beginner tango lesson in Buenos Aires, I sat down to my first glass of South American wine, a Malbec from Mendoza. Young, vibrant, and alive, but with darkness and structure, this 2008 Balbo Malbec is a great wine to follow this classic sensual/macho dance of the city. Salud!

Congrats, Peter!

Peter's Malbec got 90 points from James Molesworth in Wine Spectator! Here's the review:

Los Vencejos
Malbec Uco Valley 2007
90 points | $28 | 119 cases imported | Red
Very ripe and nicely rounded, with a lovely floral aroma leading
the way for enticing blueberry, fig and plum fruit flavors. Long,
lush finish has nice focus too. Drink now through 2011.—J.M.

Spotlight: Peter, the Argentine

This post is dedicated to Peter, who left a week ago to go back to his vineyard in Argentina. Peter is actually from the States originally but bought a vineyard in Mendoza about 5 years ago. He grows Malbec and Tempranillo and came to Wiemer to learn about white wine production and sweet wine production - he loves the sweet stuff and is considering planting Torrontes, a white grape, in his vineyard for sweet wine production. So our little mini cuvee of TBA Gewurz was a special project for him. (As a side note, we got a little more than one 375 ml bottle, so we had everyone here sample the extra. We are going to let the bottle chill out for a couple months and then meet up to share it. We suspect that the alcohol is around 12%, which is a little higher than we would have liked, but the wine has pretty aromas of lychee and grapefruit with a nice texture and sweetness on the palate. We are pretty proud of our efforts and the result!)

Peter's vineyard is called Los Vencejos, and it is named for the white-collared birds who swoop in after rainfalls. We tried his 2007 Malbec before he left and it was just beautiful - a full-bodied red with blackberry jam and spicy notes rounded out by vanilla flavors from new and old French oak. Peter imports the wine to California for shipping to certain states around the country - including NY! (http://www.losvencejos.com/)

At the winery we could always count on Peter to brew a pot of coffee before the night shift, and he was a champion when it came to polishing off the locally-baked donuts that Tim and Sandy would bring us. Although, I once ate 5 donuts in a day and everyone seemed to think that was excessive, but I bet Peter came close on some days and just never counted. On the days that he wasn't at work they never seemed to go quite as fast. Hope you aren't missing the donuts too much, Peter! I think we decided the closest Argentine equivalent would be churros... not quite the same...