INSIDE to Their Long-Term Potential but • Long-Cellared Wine Are Meant to Be Consumed Within and What to Expect Five Years of Production
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Volume I NUMBER 2 JUST A SPLASH November- December 2019 In the past, most fine red wines were meant to be aged. The world has changed, and wine has WHAT’S changed with it. Now most wines are produced with no forethought INSIDE to their long-term potential but • Long-Cellared Wine are meant to be consumed within and What to Expect five years of production. The Pages 1-3 reasons for this are predominantly economic—waiting until there is • New Wines At significant bottle age to release Splash wines is expensive for producers. Page 4 LONG-CELLARED Consumers don’t typically have • Seasonal Wine large wine cellars—only the most Cocktail WINE AND WHAT serious collectors have the ability Page 5 to purchase wine and sit on it for TO EXPECT years before drinking it. • Wine Word of the Month BY CHRISTIAN EDDLEMAN, Like so many other things in the Page 5 modern world, a great deal has OWNER-VINTNER OF SYLVANUS been gained in terms of overall • Holiday ESTATE AND EMPYREAN WINES wine quality with the modernization Merchandise here is great allure in the idea of growing and winemaking Page 6 of aged wine, with its promise techniques, but something has also T • ReWINEd Crafts of unique complexity and intense been lost. But what exactly? What delight. does proper “long-cellaring” do for Page 6 wine? The oldest wines from the finest • Spritz in Wines producers routinely garner the Long-term cellaring of wine allows Page 7 highest prices at exclusive auctions a balancing of complex primary • Meet The Team and secondary flavors, acids and around the world. Yet currently, Page 8 only 1% of all wine produced is tannins. A structural, tannic wine meant to be aged or cellared for will become softer and smoother • Splash Dogs many years. That makes wines that as tannins fall out (often in the form Page 9 both benefit from long cellaring, of sediment). Bright fruit flavors • Featured Winery and are available at reasonable can transform into a profusion of prices, among the rarest pleasures subtle and unexpected tastes and Page 9 in the wine world. aromas. 1 from others of that bottling, even in the LONG-CELLARED WINE same case of wine. This is simply part of the AND WHAT TO EXPECT joy of drinking a properly aged wine. Luckily, wines that are built to age don’t (CONT.) suddenly “peak” and then fall apart. While WHAT SHOULD A FINE, AGED WINE there is a point in which they are at their most enjoyable, fine wines typically have a TASTE LIKE? window of several years in which they are The secondary flavors that emerge in wines at their most interesting. that are produced with an eye to cellaring are both interesting and enjoyable. In WHAT ARE POTENTIAL RISKS IN Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlots, bright CELLARING WINE? red fruits and aromas can turn into soft plum, dried fig, and candied orange peel. While cellaring fine wine has obvious Notes of cedar and tobacco leaf become benefits, there are inherent risks as well. more prominent. In Syrah, a smoky and rich These risks fall into two categories: One cured meat flavor can emerge. Oak notes is cork taint, where certain undesirable can change from simple wood and vanilla chemicals leach from the cork into the wine, into luscious crème caramel. causing unpleasant flavor changes. The signal for this is generally a musty aroma, A properly aged wine tends to be soft, and and muted flavors. Sometimes there’s smooth, yet rich and flavorful. So drinkable, only a trace of cork taint in a bottle, and a bottle might vanish before you know it. the mustiness will disappear if the wine is But this only occurs with time and proper exposed to oxygen (allowed to “breathe”). cellaring. The flavors imparted by cellaring Other times the cork taint spoils the wine are almost never present in young wines. entirely. HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN TO DRINK A LONG-CELLARED WINE? When we speak of an aged wine reaching its “peak”, we mean a time in the future where the rough edges of the wine will be buffed off, and the wine will show its very best combination of flavors. Determining this time in advance is largely an art, based on years of experience with fine wines. The complex chemistry of slow micro-oxygenation provided by a good cork doesn’t always work on the same timetable for every wine, and sometimes it even works a bit differently from one bottle to another. This is why a bottle of long- cellared wine might taste a bit different 2 The second is oxidation. This comes from EMPYREAN WINES: BUILT TO AGE AND too much, rather than just enough, oxygen PROPERLY CELLARED filtering through the cork. The signs of this are a very brown, rather than purple, or red, Our Empyrean wines were stored under edge to the wine in glass. A slightly brown ideal conditions for aging, in a vast, thick- edge in an aged wine is not a bad thing, as walled, apple warehouse in northern long as the rest of the flavors are good. Red Washington State. Dry, dark, and partially wines tend to lighten in color as they age, underground, a space originally meant for white wines tend to darken. This, again, storing apples proved perfect for storing is not a problem, so long as the flavors are wine. good. Recent tastings of our 2007 Empyrean bottlings show them to be in fantastic shape for drinking. They are ready to drink now. Tasting notes below: 2007 CYGNUS SYRAH This wine remains fresh and lively, with pepper and blackberry notes, hints of smoky, cured-meat aromas, and unctuous textures only a long-cellared Syrah can deliver. A way to check for too much oxidation is by placing the glass over a white sheet of 2007 DRACO CLARET paper and looking at the edges of the wine in glass. Another sign of oxidation is an Velvety and luscious, with deep abundance, rather than a small amount, black fruits and tobacco leaf. With of sherry-like flavors. Sherry is a style of a little time in the glass, the flavors wine that is deliberately oxidized, so the evolve even further, yielding a presence of these flavors in an overly beautiful crème brulee on the oxidized bottle makes sense. finish. Often a wine that was stored in improper 2007 ERIDANUS CLARET conditions will show signs of oxidation. Proper cellaring is crucial to aging wines. Still possessing good tannic Conditions should be cool, dark, and free of structure, but with soft edges, a great deal of light and vibration. That’s dried fig and earthy cocoa powder. why cellars are traditionally the ideal place to store wine for aging. 3 NEW WINES AT SPLASH MAR SENHOR OBLISCO ADENTRO DA VINHA TEMPRANILLO WHITE RED Hailing from Spain Mar Adentro, Meaning “Lord of and an esteemed meaning “Into the the Vineyard”, the favorite of the Sea”, is a tribute name refers to a Extremadura region, to Portuguese legendary local this Tempranillo explorers and man who was embodies the explorations. well-respected and essence of the This easy-going used to stand and regional terrior. This wine has floral observe the region young and bright, nuances and intense fruit from the highest points of un-oaked wine shows the real aromas which will mimic its the vineyards within the Tejo beauty of Tempranillo in its smooth and elegant palate. Region of Portugal. This region youthful state; featuring fresh The vineyards are situated in produces some of the most cherry and red berry fruit on the Tejo Region just north of refreshing wines in the world. the nose, with a palate that is Lisbon near the Tejo River. The Indigenous Portuguese grape classically soft, silky and savory proximity to the river leads to varieties produce this ruby with hints of sweet fruit, easy a more maritime micro-climate, colored wine, with mineral acidity and gentle tannins. Ideal moderating the temperature aroma and rich tannins. Soft with tomato-based sauces, and helping to contribute and fruity on the palate with barbecue meats and Mexican to the fruitiness, acidity and a lasting persistence. Ideal food. freshness of the wines. Ideal with red meats, pork and other with dressed salads, curry foods dressed in herbs to pick Grape Varieties dishes infused with coconut up on the savory balsamic Tempranillo and various seafoods such as character of the grapes. lobster and crab. Grape Varieties Grape Varieties Tinta Roriz and Rufete Fernão Pires and Arinto 4 GERMAN GLÜHWEIN (MULLED WINE) f you’re in a colder region of the Icountry, warmer drinks are needed for the Holidays. Roughly translated as “glowing-wine”, Glühwein is a traditional winter-holiday drink in German speaking countries. INGREDIENTS: DIRECTIONS: -½ cup water Mix water, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, wine - ½ cup sugar and the juice of the orange together in - 2 whole cloves heavy pot. Bring up the heat, but DO NOT - 2 cinnamon sticks BOIL. Add the orange peel and simmer 15 - 1 orange minutes. Serve immediately and keep as warm as possible. - 1 bottle of red wine (we recommend our Florent Descombes Pinot Noir) WINE WORD OF THE MONTH “FULL-BODIED” seeds of grapes- the thicker the skin, the more tannins there are. Oak aging also adds tannin The body of wine is described as its texture or and aromatic compounds of vanillin that give a weight in the mouth. Full-bodied wines are big buttery texture and flavor. Finally, sugar levels and powerful. They are wines that have a rich, increase the viscosity of wine.