When it comes to consecration, don't you wish that sometimes your parish priest would consecrate the good stuff? Opus One, for example. Screaming Eagle. Lafite Rothschild. Those kind of names. The kind that could make you think it was the blood of Christ, no consecration required. Sigh.
Maybe it's just me.
But I don't think so. So in the interest of pushing the envelope, I offer here my weekly selection of Unholy Wine -- the stuff I wished Father Bear-Daddy poured and consecrated. Try them! It might be the only taste of heaven you ever get.
WEEK OF JUNE 2, 2008: Wagner Vineyards 2006 Semi-dry Riesling – another find from our Finger Lakes trip. Huge fruit nose, very concentrated, bursts on palate with intensity, a little apricot, some melon, light on the minerality and perhaps shy a little acid, but would pair nicely with spicy food. Residual sugar in check; definitely not a “sweet” wine.
WEEK OF MAY 26, 2008: Memorial Day weekend permitted a trifecta of tastings of the wines we brought back with us from the Finger Lakes. The Standing Stone Riesling 2007 was light, crisp, acidic, refined, with restrained white stone fruit and some mineral qualities. Should be drunk alone; a little delicate for food. Great value! The Silver Spring Winery 2003 Cabernet Franc was a good, light-bodied, light-alcohol summer red with a darker nose than taste, sufficient acid to pair with food. We drank ever so slightly chilled and it changed nice as it warmed in the glass. Lamoureaux (French for “Love Waters”) Landing 2007 Gewurtztraminer had dry, citrus qualities like a sauvignon blanc, spiciness mid-to-late-palate, no discernable lychee flavor, medium bodied with high but perfectly balanced alcohol.
WEEK OF MAY 19, 2008: Scott and I and the other founding members of our cooperative Winebuyers.Org traveled up to the Finger Lakes of New York and did some wine tasting. We rented a fab house next to a waterfall and visited wineries along lakes Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga. Expect to see more N.Y. State wines in this space over the summer. A repeat favorite: Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinefera Wine Cellars Rkatsiteli, reportedly one of the oldest cultivated grapes in the world, grown at Mount Ararat, according to our homolicious wine pourer. Clean, crisp, dry, white with good minerals and acidity, decent fruit, perhaps between a pinot blanc and a dry Riesling.
WEEK OF MAY 12, 2008: It was a remarkably uneventful week in the world of wine. Best of show was Turley Wine Cellar's 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel, a cheaper version of the more refined Turley family of Zins. It was knock-you-off-bar-stool powerful, deeply extracted, rich, but a little one-dimensional with classic Zin jammy flavors that evoked brambles and bee stings and summertime.
WEEK OF APRIL 28, 2008: Owen
Roe Sharecropper Oregon Pinot Noir 2006 is one of the mid-range wines
produced by Owen Roe, a winery named after the Irish patriot. It is certainly a young wine, with
predominant berry flavors, but somewhat one-dimensional with little of the
earthiness of some of Owen Roe’s top-of-the-line productions like “The
Kilmore.” Nevertheless, concentrated but
not heavy. The high-alcohol is nicely
balanced (even when it warms in the glass, it never comes to center stage. The acids seemed relatively low; I’d worry
this one might get flabby over time, so I’d slurp it up now. We had pork loin chops and Portobello
mushrooms, which worked well.
WEEK OF APRIL 21, 2008: 2007 Commanderie de Peyrassol Cotes de Provence Rosé. Yes, it’s time for the pink stuff, a sure signal of spring. Long
one of my favorite pink wines, this stuff is pale, dry, delicate, with
perfect balance, reserved fruit, more floral (think flower petals),
ideal for light foods and snacks. A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault. You can feel the Provencal warmth flow through it. Perfect for al fresco dining. Imported by Neal Rosenthal. If his name is on the bottle, it’s worth buying.
WEEK OF APRIL 7, 2008: Rhys Vineyards “Alesia” Green Valley Pinot Noir 2006. (Note that, according to Rhys, I shouldn’t have drunk the bottle at all! Mea culpa! Only so many bottles I can “hold’ in a 950 square foot apartment!) A brilliant new release for which I waited interminably on the waiting list. An unusually rich pinot, with the viscosity and color of a syrah, a powerfully compact delivery of flavor, dark fruits strongest (cherries, plum), balanced acidity and alcohol. Like meeting a big stud who also happens to have an amazing vocabulary. (Did you guys see the NY Times piece on the Gladiator? Nothing like a Scrabble-playing street fighter to get my panties in a bunch.) I would never pick it as typical of pinot, but it has its own brawny merits.
WEEK OF MARCH 24, 2008: 2006 Saxon Brown Pinot Noir Parmelee Hill. An unusually dark pinot with the punch to back it up. Perhaps lacks nuance or layering, but densely packed flavors barely give the palate a rest. Acid is high and alcohol may be slightly out of balance at 14.5%, suggesting another year of cellaring might help it out. Look for dried and dark fruits, barnyard, and saddle flavors.
WEEK OF MARCH 10, 2008: 2006 Casata Monfort Gewurztraminer Traminer Aromatico. Although Gewurztraminer is normally considered a German, Austrian, or Alsatian product, Tramin, the town from which the grape took its name, is in the Italian Alps. This version, retailing for $15, is dry, very light, medium acid, some minerals, some stone fruits, not complex, missing some of the lychee and richness and spice I expect from a Gewurz. Nevertheless, it made a nice aperitif. I would not pair it with food of any substance, but it probably would make a nice match for communion wafers.
WEEK OF 26 FEB 2008: 2002 Porter Creek Syrah Timbervine Ranch: dark understated fruit without typical CA jamminess or chocolate notes. High alcohol but well-balanced. Long, complex finish with a powerful peppery mid-palette. Elegant for a syrah. Some spice, some olive, with a hearty dollop of Viognier added.
WEEK OF 4 FEB 2008:
Patricia
Green Cellars Ribbon Ridge Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir 2006. Austere
