The Dessert Dilemma the Varietal Trap the 2064 Vintage Upon Burgundy's Frontier Tasters Guild Journal
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Dessert Dilemma The Varietal Trap The 2064 Vintage Upon Burgundy's Frontier Tasters Guild Journal CONTENTS: 3 The Varietal Trap By Don Berger 4 Upon Burgundy's 'Frontier' By Todd Ross 6 I Grew up Drinking Sweet Vermouth By Brian Cain 8 The Dissert Dilemma By Michael Schafer 9 The 2064 Vintage By Dr. Richard Vine, PhD 10 Consumers' Judging Results 11 Double Gold Tasting Notes 12 Retailer's Shelf By Dick Scheer 14 Ask Tasters Guild By Joe Borrello is published two times a year by TASTERS GUILD INTERNATIONAL 1515 Michigan NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (616) 454-7815 Fax (616) 459-9969 e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.tastersguild.com Editor Joe Borrello Creative Director Wayne J Brown Copy Editor Beth Ann Theiste Associate Publisher Robert Machera Cover Photo by S. Niedzwiecki www.StacyN.com Artwork created by Ron Pleune of ArtEngage! – Rockford, Michigan For advertising information, please contact: Machera Associates Phone/Fax: 802-442-8523 E-mail: [email protected] 2 HOLIDAY 2014 TASTERS GUILD JOURNAL By Dan Berger The Varietal Trap The varietal trap is the situation California acidity), and so forth. display better aspects of fine winemaking and winemakers often find themselves in when Such a wine could well be similar to the didn’t resort to any hot-climate fruit, which crafting a wine, usually a red. Rhône blends that we have seen in such wines often signals a wine that is soft and simple. They have to use key varietal grapes for as Côtes du Rhône, as well as California And (b) the percentages indicate that the at least 75% of such wines because generics wines that emulate these. blend wasn’t a simple 50-50 afterthought. It don’t sell for as much money, no matter how If the majority of such a wine is from cooler was a consciously considered blend. good they are. Moreover, for better or worse, climates, the result can often be a charming The multiple appellation may not be the best Americans are so variety conscious that they alternative to some mundane Merlot with solution to the problem associated with the feel more comfortable buying a wine that its weedy, over-ripe aroma and its fat, soft, California appellation, but it has been adopted says “Merlot” or “Cabernet Sauvignon” on its formless finish. But can the consumer by others who are making blends from fruit label than anything that says “red table wine.” really know what region is represented if its grown in cooler regions than Kern County. The latter is often associated with cheap appellation is California? For one, the successful wine entrepreneur plonk; varietals are “chic” because they Indeed, it is the coastal nature of the fruit Cameron Hughes has used dual appellations indicate that the wine was made from a that helps make such wines better than their on some of his products and the consumer single variety, which always sounds more central valley counterparts because the is truly benefited from knowing where the prestigious. fruit can remain on the vine longer to gain grapes were grown. But when the appellation on the label is complexity, rather than be picked early when California, two things are likely. One: Some heat drives the sugar up before mature flavors “Dan Berger’s Vintage Experiences,” a of the fruit (perhaps a lot of it) has come from develop. four-page weekly newsletter on wine is high-density vines growing in California’s hot It was this very argument that drove a sent via First Class U.S. Mail or email to central valley. Two: About 25% of the wine number of coastal wineries in their quest subscribers. It is available to wine lovers for may not be of the named varietal. to gain official U.S. appellation status for a $52 per year, 48 issues, and contains stories, California Coast appellation in the late 1990s. commentary, tasting notes and humor. To see The Varietal Misnomer The wineries, headed by Kendall-Jackson, a sample or order a subscription go to www. So a Merlot with a California appellation argued (correctly, in my view) that coastal vintageexperiences.com or call 888-662- could well be made up of 75% Merlot from grapes were significantly better than central WINE for further details. south of Fresno and 25% of the wine is a blend valley grapes, and an appellation would of high-tonnage grapes from varieties that are recognize that fact. anything but fine. The result would be a blah The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and wine that, chances are, has no resemblance to Firearms (now called the Tax and Trade Merlot. Bureau) rejected the admittedly controversial Yet Merlot is what marketing managers for proposal, leaving wineries who want to blend major wineries want, a lot more than they a bit of Napa fruit with that of Monterey, for want generic wines that have all coastal fruit example, to use a California appellation. and might well be a lot better red wine. However, there is another solution and Besides, in the under-$10 price category, Kendall-Jackson took it starting more than a most varietal red wines have no particular decade ago. varietal character. The most we can expect is When appropriate, the firm began to use for the wine to be sound and drinkable. Sorry dual appellations on its Grand Reserve to deliver such curmudgeonly news. But wines, starting with the 2000 reds. The that’s the reality of cheaper varietal red wines. Grand Reserve wines have always had a I have long championed sound, well-made California appellation. Starting in 2000, K-J blended red wines when the fruit was from used multiple appellations, so a wine could cooler, coastal regions; when such fruit is be listed as 71% Napa Valley, $39% Sonoma handled with care, and when the result is County. balanced with good acidity, blended reds can These were varietal wines. But wineries be excellent. And since about 2008 or so, we could also adopt this idea to use on generics. have seen an explosion of such wines from At the moment, the “California” appellation every area of the state. remains (as it always has) a signifier signifying very little. The grapes came from The Argument for Blended Wines the state. So what? Parts of the state do not Blended red wines can offer a lot to make great wine and likely never well. consumers who want flavor, not political So let’s say that a winery decided to make 800-836-3894 correctness. When you’re not looking for a wine called Skinny River Red and used www.pedroncelli.com the varietal character to play a huge role in an appellation that was dual, such as 59% 1220 Canyon Road, Geyserville, CA a red wine, it’s fun to taste one that has a bit Carneros, 41% Sonoma Coast. of Grenache (yielding a trace of cranberry), Such a wine would signal to potential buyers Follow us at: a little Carignane (for plum-y, old-world that (a) the winemaker chose two relatively facebook.com/pedroncelliwinery twitter.com/pedroncelli fruit), perhaps a bit of some Sangiovese (for cool regions that allowed for the wine to HOLIDAY 2014 TASTERS GUILD JOURNAL 3 By R. Todd Ross Upon Burgundy’s ‘Frontier’ The recent purchase of the Clos des soil and climate. Still, what may be the most Jadot, have been a part of the Burgundian Lambrays in Morey-St.-Denis, by the important factor in Burgundy’s abundance landscape for several hundred years. As luxury brand conglomerate, Louis Vuitton are the wine-growers themselves. Though interest in the relatively tiny supply Burgundy Moët-Hennessy, sparked concern among the trend may be changing, it has been the wine has increased worldwide, especially in members of a number of family domaines norm that every aspect of wine production China, the cost of doing business in the region in Burgundy, including Stephane Magnien, is carried out with a singular vision in self- has naturally risen. Hand in hand with higher who, as reported in Decanter, lamented that imposed isolation. How to train and manage wine prices have come higher land values and soon “the old Burgundy,” the familiar one of the vines, how and when to plow, decisions higher inheritance taxes, the latter of which the winemaker/owner, “will no longer exist.” about yield, when to harvest, in what vessels continuing to force many small domaines to While Magnien’s worries are not wholly to ferment, choices of cooperage and length make the agonizing decision to sell off parts unjustified, changes in of their holdings bit by bit in Burgundy happen slowly, order to satisfy the demands and the Burgundy he of the French government foreshadows may only and to remain solvent. In be on some far distant a region where the size of horizon. the average family domaine I experienced some of is barely more than seven what Magnien expressed hectares (yielding about about Burgundy in Napa, 2,500 cases of wine), giant during a February trip firms like Louis Jadot, who to Premier Napa Valley, are in a solid cash position, an event where there are more than happy to step pervaded a disturbing in and snap up choice real disconnect between three estate. Thus the big are ever-more disparate getting bigger and the small groups: winery owners, are getting smaller. winemakers, and the In 2012, Louis Ng Chi- cadres of workers, mostly sing, a major wine collector Hispanics, who carry out and chief operating officer the labor in the vineyards. at SJM Holdings in Macau, Echoed across the pages purchased the Chateau de of Jon Bonné’s 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin.