What energized me to attempt a comeback were the anguished queries that I received from fans all over the world.
EXHIBIT A: My daughter sent an e-mail from Peru (“Dad, what’s wrong with you?”)
EXHIBIT B: My wine buddies were annoyed because they had fewer opportunities to make fun of me.
Further more:
The great Brillat-Savarin prefaces his book "La Physiology du Gout" with twenty aphorisms of which the ninth one reads as follows: "The discovery of a new dish enhances humankind's happiness more than the discovery of a star." Paraphrasing the brilliant Brillatt's aphorism one might say that if those who create misery in the world consumed a decent amount of good wine, we all might be better off.
WINE BASICS: PINOT NOIR AND ITS DISCONTENTS
Wine makers refer to it as “the heartbreak grape" because it’s so finical in vineyard and winery. What about my heartbreak? I have had so many bad or mediocre Pinot Noirs, mostly from its home turf, Burgundy, France, that I’m almost ready to throw in the towel and abnegate.
Then again, when you look at Wine Meister’s biography, one of the epiphanies that caused his infatuation with wine were the Burgundies of Robert Chevillon from Nuits-St. George.
No way I could afford them today. You may think Wine Meister is succumbing to “the politics of envy,” because the poor slob can no longer afford good wine.
Well yes, sort of. We 99%ers have been shut out of the market for really good wines by the incessant hype of wine critics and importers, but admittedly, also by small supply and increasing demand.
BURGUNDY: It's a waste of money to buy Burgundies unless you have tasted them before purchase.
Of recent vintages, 2005 is considered very good and some of the wines should be approachable now. Subsequent years are good as well, and 2009 is deemed exceptional.
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| "Appellation Controlée: Burgundy" - Etching by the Wein Meister |
If you are a 99%er, best to check out wines from the less exalted Burgundy villages like Savigny-les –Beaune (Domaine Bize & Fils, Domaine Ecard Pere et Fils), Mercurey, Santenay, Comblanchien for Cote de Nuits-Villages, Pernand-Vergelesse, Fixin (try Domaine Bruno Claire), Ladoix, Givry (Domaine Joblot), etc..
They won’t transport you to Pinot heaven like a Musigny or a Grand Echezaux, but at least they will give you an idea what a Pinot Noir from its home turf tastes like. Don't be turned off by some funky smells. It's part of the Pinot experience and known as "barnyard" in polite society, while the natives call it approvingly "c'est de la merde."
Despite my misgivings, but still looking for the holy grail, I went to a 2009 Burgundy tasting at the San Francisco Wine Trading Company two weekends ago and I was aghast. The pricier Pinots ($65 - $90) would surely blow anything made in California out of the water.
But let me begin with the less expensive ones. We started off with a delightful Chardonnay (the white grape of Burgundy) that had a pretty nose, good balance, a touch of oak, and impressive length. This comes from the Co-op of Buzy, Cote Chalonnaise "Buisonnier" at the southern end of the Cote de Beaune and sells for $15.
The first Pinot from the village of Mercurey had some good attributes, but very high acidity and lacked fruit ($33). Next was a Domaine R. Dubois, Hautes - Cote de Nuits with that notorious Burgundy "stink" in the bouquet, nice balance, good fruit and good to very good length for all of $19.
Stepping up to the pricier ones was a revelation. First came the Domaine Chevillon, Nuits-Saint-Georges "Vieilles Vignes" (old vines). It had a light ruby, brilliant color, a superb Pinot nose with wonderful, crisp, raspberry, cherry, and strawberry smells. On the palate it was wonderfully balanced, with great fruit, and very good length ($65).Next up was the Domaine Henri Gouges, Nuits-Sant -Georges "Les Chaignots" Premier Cru for $84. It resembled the Chevillon, but it had ripe tannins, indicating that this was built to last. Then we were back to Domaine Robert Chevillon with another Nuits-Saint-Georges "Les Chaignots" Premier Cru for $90. This had a really intense Pinot nose, wonderful balance between fruit and acidity, and very good length. In my book, these were non (ne?) plus ultra Pinots.
I am asking for contributions, so I can go out and buy some of these wines. All the reds were light, almost rose-like which is not unusual for Burgundies.
CALIFORNIA: Andre Tchelitstcheff (1901 - 1994), the most celebrated winemaker of the post-prohibition California wine industry, made legendary Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernets, but he considered his 1946 Pinot Noir the best wine he had ever made.
Martin Ray (1905 – 76), a post World War II California wine pioneer had this to say about the difficulty of making good Pinot in California: “To begin with, if it’s grown anywhere other than in Region I (i.e. the coolest locales such as Russian River Valley, Carneros, Santa Cruz Mountains), and possibly even then, it doesn't produce sufficient acidity. That's the big problem. It turns brown when it's a year or so old."
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| Andre Tchelistcheff of Beaulieu Vineyards |
More beef - California Pinots are often over extracted and have very high alcohol. They often reek of new oak. Yes, top notch Burgundies in good years are aged in new oak, but eventually the wood harmonizes with the other components of the wine.
There is an effort underway to push Pinot Noir vineyards ever closer to the Sonoma coast to get grapes with higher acidity levels and lower yields. Let’s hope the brave souls who battle the elements out there will succeed.
PERSONAL FAVORITES (none of them cheap): RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY: Dehlinger, Scherrrer, Wesmar, Lynmar. CARNEROS: Etude, ANDERSON VALLEY: Navarro. SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS: Mount Eden Vineyards. SANTA BARBARA COUNTY: Au Bon Climat, Melville, Sanford. MONTEREY COUNTY: Calera, Chalone.
OREGON: Pinot Noir is the signature grape of Oregon. Until the 1970’s there was no history of wine growing in the state. The Oregon Pinot Noir craze was initiated by California haters who studied oenology at Davis in the the late 60s-early 70's and headed for greener pasture up north.
The climate of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the heart of Pinot country, can be a curse or a blessing. In good years its Pinots highlight the bright fruit of the Northwest Pacific, balanced with good acidity. With rain during harvest come rot and diluted juice, and only the most conscientious growers will produce acceptable wines.
Today's top estates for Pinots are Adelsheim, Cooper Mountain, Drouhin, Serene, Erath, King, Penner-Ash, Ponzi, Rex Hill and Sokol Blossor.
2008 is considered a very good year, while 06 was showered with accolades.
AUSTRALIA: Among all the Shirazes, Grenaches, and Cabs, Pinots seem like an afterthought. Please, let me know if you run into one. My Australian spies play a different tune. For all of $12, they sing the praises of a 2007 De Bortoli "Windy Peak" Pinot and a De Portoli "Golf Station" Pinot from the Yarra Valley (one of the cool climate spots in Aussie land) for $18, the Scotch Man's Hill "Swans Bay Geelong " Pinot of 2006.
In the mid twenty dollar range, they extol Stonier Mornington Peninsula Pinot, Nepenthe Charleston Pinot, De Bortoli Yarra Valley Pinot and Ashton Hills Vineyard Estate 2006. Another under $30 Pinot is the Paringa Pinot Noir. In the $40's, they list the Dog Point Vineyard Pinot, the '06 Downey Vineyard Pinot, and PHI Pinot. Yabbi Lake Mornington Peninsula tops out the list at $56. The prices are those the spies found in Australian wineshops.
NEW ZEALAND: There has been some buzz about Kiwi Pinots. Since I lack experience, I rely on my NZ spies who tell me that only a handful of wineries have track records for producing good bottles in most years. Weather during harvest time can be miserable. So be sure that you select the good years.
Here are the top producers that my spies identified: Ata Rangi, Felton Road, Mt. Difficulty, Escarpment lead the pack followed by Dry River, Peregrine and to a lesser degree Bell Hill, Pyramid Valley, Two Paddocks, and Volli.
I recently tasted three Kiwi Pinots. I liked the cheapest ($14), an 2010 "Over the Edge" by Escarpment the best. The more pricey ones, bottles from Goose Bay Winery ($27) and Craggy Range "Te Muna Road" ($45) suffered from the California disease - over the top oakyness.
GERMANY: During the middle ages, Cistercian monks brought Pinot Noir grapes from Burgundy to their new outposts outside of France. In the German speaking lands, Pinot Noir is called Spaetburgunder.
While German Pinots used to be light, insipid, fruity and slightly sweet, connoisseurship of the 1980's led some young vintners to follow their Burgundian idols and some have succeeded to a remarkable degree.
Rheingau: A region famous for Rieslings, but the town of Assmanshausen produces mostly Pinots. The star producer is August Kesseler whose pricey wines are carried by DeeVine Wines, San Francisco. K&L in San Francisco occasionally carries some less expensive Rheingau producers.
Pfalz: Rebholz and Knipser are leading, but larger estates, famous for Riesling (e.g. Reichsrat von Buhl) are also producing Pinots. K&L has sold bottles of Buhl Pinots.
Rheinhessen: Weingut Keller is considered the leading German domain for whites as well as Pinots, which are available at DeeVine Wines in San Francisco. Pretty pricey stuff.
Baden: This area squeezed between Black Forest and Rhine, has one of the most benign climates in Germany and Pinots can be outstanding. These wines are hard to find, but you never know. I came upon two different bottlings of the Baden Weingut Duijn in Tucson, Arizona, of all places. Top producers are Weingut Huber, Weingut Bercher, Weingut Salwey, Weingut Reinhod and Cornelia Schneider.
AUSTRIA: The area east of Vienna, unlike the rest of Austria, has a continental climate with hot summers and very cold winters. Red wines predominate along the Hungarian border. Most of the reds are Blaufraenkisch and Zweigelt and there has been a lot of experimentation with Bordeaux varieties (e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot). Still, there is Pinot and a possibly related clone, St Laurent, that can make terrific wines. Even in areas were Riesling and Gruener Veltliner rule, some great Pinots can show up (e.g. Weingut Fred Loimer in the Kamptal).
Thermenregion: Small district South of Vienna. The wineries that produce excellent Pinots are Aumann, Biegler, Fischer, Johanneshof - Familie Reinisch.
Carnuntum: Small wine district Southeast of Vienna. Weingut Familie Markowitsch produces a fabulous Pinot Noir Reserve. Walter Glatzer, who is fairly well represented in the U.S., shines with St. Laurent "Altenberg."
Neusiedlersee: Southwest of Vienna, mostly famous for Blaufraenkisch, also produces some outstanding Pinots and the Pinot clone St. Laurent.
Leading Pinot/St. Laurent producers that I visited: Siegfried Gsellmann, Gernot & Heike Heinrich, Josef Umathum, and Wenzel.
Well, it's good to be back. Here is hoping that you are all in the best of health and that you'll have an excellent bottle with your dinner tonight.
