What is wrong with this picture?

I will leave it to the reader to determine what is wrong with the following statement from this Bloomberg story:

``We can feel that there's an increasing market for this [$400 beer], as some of our customers order extremely expensive wines without blinking an eye,'' Lau Richter, restaurant chief at the Noma restaurant, said today by phone. ``Ten years ago, it was a rare event selling a 1,000 kroner bottle of wine at a Danish restaurant, now we do it every day.''

New Comment Policy

Given the very weird, and apparently inappropriate, anonymous comment left this evening (though what is anonymous, given how easy it is to track an ISP), all future comments must come from Google accounts. And once again, please review the comment policy to the left before posting a comment.

Dom Martinho 2004

A "cheaper" read produced by Quinta do Carmo, which is owned by Domaines Barons de Rothschild (as a side note, I once had the pleasure of taking a wine tasting class run by a vice president of the wholly owned subsidiary of DBR that was responsible for distributing its wines in the United States). In fact, it was the Quinta do Carmo wines that got me into dry Portuguese table wines.

But back to the Dom Martinho. The wine has a great purple/violet color. The nose is coffee and dark fruits, including cherry and plum, with some hint of wood on the nose (maybe cedar). With the right amount of tannins (this wine would be great with a medium bodied meat), it coats the palate. The finish lingers, making this wine very enjoyable. At $14 retail, this is a great bargain. Three and a half stars (with a half star for value) out five.

Saturday is going to be fun

Expensive wines up for auction. An 118 page catalog. Meanwhile, worldwide, the financial markets are imploding. This is going to be fun!

Wine tasting tips from "The Onion"

Here they are. My personal favorite? "The quality of a wine is inversely proportional to the viciousness of the animal depicted on the label."

A not surprising result

From Bloomberg, a not surprising result:

Prices for Bordeaux first-growths including Chateau Lafite and Margaux held stable at Sotheby's first wine sale this year in London, with right-bank producers Petrus and Cheval Blanc accounting for seven of the top 10 lots.

. . . .

``I think it's indicative of the market at the moment,'' said Stephen Mould, senior director of Sotheby's international wine department. ``Prices have probably flattened out a bit.''

Wine is a luxury good and as people become more concerned with their own financial health, discretionary spending on luxuries is cut back. In short, this could lead to "interesting times" for California producers who will be subjected to high fuel costs, increased labor costs, and a weakening economy. Even more, could this lead to a drop in the prices for the soon-to-be-released 2005 Bordeaux. In effect, did the Bordelais decide to cash in too late?

Saint-Jean-Des-Graves 2005

A Sauvignon blanc from the Graves region of Bordeaux. Typical straw color for Sauvignon blanc, with grape fruit and maybe a hint of steel on the nose. Relatively mild acidity and very dry on the palate, though I suspect this wine is now old enough that it has lost some of its bite. I'm glad I didn't wait any longer to open this -- a definite drink now kind of wine. Two and a half out of five stars.

Wine and big four accounting?

Yes, someone made the connection. (HT: The Professor.)

Snobbery

An influential wine critic recently wrote:

Sometimes, it seems, that having an opinion about a wine is as important if not more so than having actually tried it. It’s easy to knock a $200 Cabernet for price, or ding a cult Pinot for being Syrah-ish.

I say this having had many occasions where I’ve talked to wine drinkers and after discussing wines, it becomes apparent that we have entirely different impressions.

Most times I ask: “Have you ever tried the wine?” Or “Are we talking about the same wine?”

You’d be amazed by how many times those same people say that, well, no, they haven’t tried it … but they’ve heard.

For now, I will leave to the side the implicit defense of Syrah-ish Pinot and $200 Cult Cabernet (which, given the difficulty of getting a Cult Cab, turns to at least $500 in the secondary market) -- but thank you, Mr. Critic, for implicitly identifying where you stand on that debate.

Instead, look at his response to such criticisms and how that response is used: "Have you tried the wine?" In this context, his response is used to shut up the counterparty, and not to defend the criticized practice. Of course, the circumstances demonstrate how unfair this response is. As the California critic for Wine Spectator, he is able to try thousands of wines a year -- both in his job as an official reviewer, and through the access that job gives him to the wine industry. How likely is it that he has to pay for even a fraction of those wines? Given the prices of California wine (especially the Cult Cabs), he is probably able to put six figures worth of wine in his mouth every year.

Six figures. And he begrudges his counterparty for complaining about the implicit lack of access for Cult Cabs found in their prices. In effect, his response is equivalent to someone of privilege scoffing at those less fortunate because of their lack of privilege.

This is snobbery. A better response would have been to say: "Have you tried the wine? If not, let's try it together and share our thoughts then." Wine should always be about discovery, and even the uninitiated will teach the experienced a thing or two.

Unfortunately, wine is a field that tends to collect snobs, whether it is the privileged few who look down on the uninitiated, or the ignorant who like to puff up their chests by feigning knowledge. By reinforcing the appearance of knowing more about wine than someone else (no matter the actual level of knowledge), one tries to come off as cultured in a way that one is not. In either case, how one treats their knowledge of wine is a great check for arrogance, intellectual thuggery, or insincerity, and gives new meaning to the phrase: In vino veritas.

If the presidential candidates were wines, what wines would they be?

Just for fun, I've decided to run through the front running candidates for president, and try and figure out which wine they would be. Ok, that's really just an excuse for me to get briefly political, but keep true to the theme of this blog.

Hillary Clinton
Clinton's the easiest one of the bunch: Chardonnay. A lot of people love Chardonnay, and a lot of people hate it. Need I say more?

John Edwards
Edwards would be Cabernet Franc. After all, Cabernet Franc's greatest claim to fame is when it's blended with another wine, but rarely reaches the highest heights when it stands on its own.

Rudy Giuliani
Pinot noir can be a thin skinned wine that can still exhibit amazing character if it ripens under greater than normal heat. However, Pinot can have a short lifespan. After a few years, the qualities that drew your initial attention will fade and you'll wonder why you liked it to begin with.

Michael Huckabee
A Viognier, with some character on the nose but often no real structure to the body.

John McCain
No doubt, McCain's Syrah. A wine that can improve with age, and can be described as meaty and powerful yet moderate (compared to other reds).

Barack Obama
Obama's a Sauvignon blanc. Under the right conditions, Sauvignon blanc can improve and develop over time. Or, the wine can be pleasant up front, but doesn't have the depth to improve and simply fades away.

Mitt Romney
A Riesling can range from sweet to dry, and seems like it can't make up its mind. If any wine could be called a flip-flopper, Riesling would be it.

Fred Thompson
While a Vintage Port has depth, nuance and some fire, it is completely undervalued by the market.

UPDATE: An individual known only as "Chicago Guy" disagrees with the Thompson analysis:

I think the explanation for Thompson is wrong. He may be a port, but ports are "fortified" with extra liquor as a preservative. Also, they tend to have more "free radicals" as they have been aging for years and exposed to the elements for a bit too long. This causes the port to be complex at first taste, but because of the extra alcohol and free radicals, only a small amount can be drunk at one time and often leaves a headache and regrets the next day.

To which I reply: Bollocks. To quote Samuel Johnson, "Claret is the liquor for boys; Port, for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy." So, as I'm sure Thompson would say, man up and enjoy some Port (and a snifter of brandy while you're at it, too).

(BTW, he's confusing a Tawny Port for a Vintage Port, in that Vintage Ports receive a similar amount of barrel aging as a typical high-end claret. Tawnies can age for decades.)

A question?

Should I expand this blog's coverage to include scotch and cognac?

Bogle Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Leather and grass on the nose. The palate is watery and thin. Bleh. Maybe if I had enough glasses of it, I would start to enjoy it. One and a half out of five stars.

UPDATE: On second thought, I can't even finish the glass. I'm switching to scotch.

New visitors.

For the (many) new visitors to this blog, please, feel free to send me an email or post in the comments if you have any questions or thoughts. I would appreciate any comments (or even, criticisms). The email address is: 77vintage.rick -at- gmail.com

Does more expensive wine taste better?

Here is a report about an interesting study from CalTech. I could swear I wrote about this topic before, but I cannot find the post. In any event, here is a quote from the article:

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology and Stanford's business school have directly seen that the sensation of pleasantness that people experience when tasting wine is linked directly to its price. And that's true even when, unbeknownst to the test subjects, it's exactly the same Cabernet Sauvignon with a dramatically different price tag.

I am not going to go off on a rant about this study like some wine writers have, and I liked that the researchers apparently took a $90 bottle of wine and claimed that it was a $10 bottle of wine in doing this study. Nor am I going to get bent out of shape that some, foreign wine critics have taken this study as a sign that Americans are concerned only about price, not value.

Instead, nothing about this study surprised me because so often expectations can influence one's enjoyment of wine. Imagine you bought a $350 bottle of wine. You open it up with your significant other over a great meal (maybe some candles are lit). Maybe even, with the first glass, you get engaged. But, suppose the wine is average. Would you not want that wine to taste better than it tastes? And since perception is such a key part about enjoying wine, and your own desires can influence your own perceptions, is it not realistic to expect that one would view the wine as exceptional?

Now, here is the funny thing. I can give an example where I have known the prices of two wines (because I paid for both of them), I enjoyed those wines in the same night with a great group of people, and my views on the wine did not match the results of the study. Here is one of the wines. Here is the other. And the second one was significantly better than the first, and significantly cheaper.

So what does this all mean? Simply, that one's expectations can influence one's perceptions. But, often the best way to appreciate or enjoy wine (or anything) is to let those expectations go and enjoy what is right in front of you. Abandon the view that a wine that costs $350 must be great. Abandon the expectation that a $5 wine must be terrible. Simply recognize the wine for what it is, and enjoy. If I have learned any lesson from my exploration of wine, it would be to recognize the value of the thing that is right in front of you.

A nice introduction to wine appreciation.

I recently came across this useful introduction to wine tasting. Enjoy!

Plumpjack Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, pt. II

Wow. What a difference a year makes. Maybe it was the glass, but the wine didn't show the same extreme dark fruits that the bottle last year showed. Thus, the dark fruits and notes of vanilla were not as prevalent. On the other hand, the wine was more well-rounded, and the tannins were not nearly as strong. A very enjoyable wine, which was easily consumed. Sadly, I don't think this was a wine that I would want to age. Three and a half out of five stars.

Why decant?

Last night, the "lovely young lady" asked me when one should decant a wine (I will write another post at a later date about why the question was raised). There's one, clearly accepted reason for decanting wine, and there is another, more controversial reason to decant.

First, some wines are likely to have sediment. Vintage Ports, for example, are bottle aged with the skin fragments of the wine grapes in the bottle. These fragments can be substantial in size and, take it from me, one does not want to consume them. Other wines, as they age, will throw down tartrates which are harmless, but aren't pleasant to look at in one's glass.

The second reason some people argue a wine should be decanted is to aerate it by exposing all of the wine to oxygen. On the other hand some researchers have argued that decanting actually has negative effects on wine (or at least, some varietals). I, honestly, fall in the former category for certain types of wines (young, powerful wines). After all, when one wants to open a bottle... why should a little thing like youth get in the way?

Envy

Somewhat humorously: I am envious of whomever can buy this wine.

Top ten list from 2007

I think I'm a little overdue in posting this, but here's a top ten list of my favorite wines from 2007.

1. Dominus Estate Napa Valley Napanook Vineyard 1996. An amazing, amazing wine, and enjoyed with two of my best friends (whom I haven't seen in almost a year). Smooth, filled with fruit and amazing character. Worth buying, and great to enjoy (especially over some Venison with Maytag Blue Butter).

2. Grgich Hills Paris Tasting Commemorative Chardonnay 2003. A great wine, and enjoyed with a wonderful person. Great memories.

3. Francois Chidaine Montlouis Sur Loire Les Boumais 2005. An amazing wine, and really shows how great Chenin blanc can be. As complex as a Chardonnay, but not as in your face.

4. Plumpjack Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. I'm glad I have a second bottle of this... and I'm eager to open it!

5. Dow's Vintage Port 1994. I had only a taste of this at the Philadelphia Wine Festival, but it was almost worth the price of admission (okay, I'm probably overstating that). Great wine, and it makes me wonder about the Bishop of Norwich.

6. Crozes-Hermitage Paul Jaboulet Aine "Thalabert" 2003. A wonderful Rhone, and enjoyed at a great restaurant.

7. Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes 2001. A great Sauternes, I can't wait until I open the d'Yquem.

8. Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. I can't wait for the 750 ml bottles to come out!

9. Quinta do Vale Meao Douro 2003. I can still taste it, and I wish I had a bottle of it right now.... Maybe I can pick one up when I'm home in February?

10. Vasco Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino 2001. It turned me on to Brunellos.

And looking over this list, and the host of wines I've tried over the past year, and I can say that I feel really lucky to be able to enjoy this hobby.

A matter of enjoyment.

I love wine. I moved cross country because I love wine. I write this blog because I love wine. I love relaxing at night with a great bottle of wine. I love the history, the science and the art that goes into modern winemaking.

Of course, sometimes I love it more than others. I most enjoy having wine with great friends, or a special someone. Wine can be a very intimate thing. Certainly, I'll enjoy a glass at a party. But consuming a bottle with one or two people changes how it's enjoyed, and changes how that time with those special people is enjoyed. As I said, it's an intimacy thing (and the alcohol certainly helps), and I would expect that most people who approach life or wine in a similar manner know what I mean. In short, enjoy the moments while they're there.

2005 Les Champauvins Domaine Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone Villages

Ruby to purple in color, this wine has a nice bouquet of black pepper, blueberry and blackberry. Well-rounded fruit on the palate, though the aftertaste is somewhat limited. Overall, a nice wine at a decent price. Three and a half stars (with a half-star for value).

Quinta do Vale Meao

I've received a ton of hits recently for people searching for reviews on Quinta do Vale Meao. Here are my notes on the 2004 and 2003. These are very enjoyable wines, both by themselves or with a nice, hearty meal. In fact, I wish I could find a good supplier of these wines in the Bay Area (while Total Wine always seemed to keep them stocked, I don't think they've made it west of the Rocky Mountains). These wines have cost about $65 to $80 for recent vintages which, while expensive, is a better bargain than what one would find from top producers in California and Bordeaux -- and, I've found these wines will easily compete with those producers in terms of quality. So, if you're thinking about buying a bottle, pick up two (you'll regret not having one around).

If only....

Great article from Slate... and it makes me wish I had discovered wine about 6 years ago, instead of 3.

Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Very young wine, with deep purple color. Aromas are intense, with plum, blackberry, currant, mocha and herb. The tannins are powerful and rich. Decant, or wait at least two years before opening -- but it should be delicious after some bottle aging! Three and a half out of five stars. Tasted from a half-bottle.

What's the deal with Champagne?

To me, nothing symbolizes more that enjoying wine is as much about context, as it is the quality of wine, than Champagne or sparkling wine. Going back hundreds of years, Champagne has been a wine for celebration. Even Dom Perignon, the monk credited with inventing sparkling Champagne (although he did not do so), is credited with saying "Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!" when he tasted his "first" glass. In short, Champagne has a history that signifies exuberance, celebration, joy. But let's be frank -- there's a lot of bland Champagnes or sparkling wines on the market, and yet people will joyfully celebrate the New Year, toast a co-worker or newly married couple with those same, bland wines.

So here's a question: would one rather celebrate a great event with a wine that will be remembered? And is a still wine a better value than a sparkling wine for such celebration?

News Year's Resolutions

It's 2008, so I'm making some New Year's Resolutions... and I'll come back next year to see how I did.

1. Post at least three times a week to the blog.

2. Go to a wine producing region outside the United States.

3. Try a varietal I have never had before (this one might be tough....).

4. Try to hold out one more year before opening the 1995 Cheval Blanc. Then again, I might panic... after all, it could be drinkable now!

5. Spend less on wine.

6. Start a Crushpad barrel. This one will probably violate # 5.

and....

7. Share more wine with more people!

And for the record... I'm betting I'll only succeed on #s 3 and 7.

UPDATE: #3 was taken care of 5/17/2008.