2005 CHATEAU LA PIERRE LEVEE RED BORDEAUX FRANCE

       The wine world owes an inestimable debt of gratitude to France. It is France that has given us the major grape varietals: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah; it is France that has originated and perfected so many methods of making wine. The words: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Champagne, Alsace are synonymous with great wine. 

       The 2005 Bordeaux is an exceptional vintage. Even the worst wine maker (vintner) in Bordeaux produced a good wine. (The same could be said about 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon in California.) All the non-human factors (terroir): the soil, climate, and location of the vineyards all conspired to produce optimum conditions for the vintner. And because the vintage is exceptional, it will soon be rare. Many of the 2005 wines are no longer available.

       Most of the wine throughout this country is purchased on the way home from work to be consumed that evening or on the weekend; the price range is usually between 10 and 15 dolloars. So the wine must be affordable and drinkable now. Chateau La Pierre Levee is such a wine. It is one of the "petits chauteaux" of Bordeaux: young, light- to medium-bodied, approachable with its soft fruit. It is a Merlot-based blend: the largest percentage is Merlot, with lesser amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon for backbone and depth of taste, especially red currant, and Cabernet Franc which adds an earthy aroma and taste. In general, Merlot-based wines are produced on the right side (eastern) of the Garonne River, and Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines on the left side. Bordeaux wines from the right side are better introductory wines for the novice Bordeaux drinker because of their softer, more-forward fruit.

        Chateau La Pierre Levee is purple-ruby in color, with aromas and tastes of black cherry, red currant, and plum, with hints of chocolate and cedar. It is a well-balanced wine, harmonizing fruit, acidity, and tannins. As with most Bordeaux, it tastes better with food: a grilled steak, a broiled marinated portabella mushroom cap. These wine-and-food pairing are only suggestions, because, as Robert Parker says: "A good wine served with good food to good company is always in good taste."

        Come in and visit us at Harney's. We still have several 2005 "petit chauteaux" Bordeaux.

   Throughout its history, Alsace in the northeast of France, across the Rhine River from Germany, has been a disputed territory, caught in a tug of war(s), literally, between France and Germany. But there is no dispute about its wines which remain constant (above the vagaries of war) and predictably excellent vintage after vintage.

   When a person goes for the degree of Master of Wine, one of the tests is to identify a particular wine as to its varietal (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, Pinot Gris, etc.), its country of origin, its vineyard, and, if possible, its vintner (winemaker). I would probably fail the test, except if the wine I was attempting to identify was from Alsace. There is no more distinctive wine in the world - especially the Gewurztraminer - than a wine from Alsace, France. TERROIR, the non-human elements (varietal, soil, climate, location) in the making of a wine, is what gives Alsace wine its distinctive aroma and taste. The lesson of the inescapability and determinism of TERROIR was learned when California attempted to make a wine rivaling the great Chianti's of Tuscany, Italy. What California produced, in the best cases, was a tasty wine, but in no way, shape, or form did it taste, even remotely, like an Italian Chianti. The Sangiovese grape grows to its fullest potential only in the soil and climate of Tuscany.

   Gentil "Hugel," a blend of white grapes by Hugel, a family that has been making wine since 1639, is equally well-suited to food as it is to drinking on its own. It is pleasingly aromatic, gently dry, round, low in acidity, buttery, exhibiting a creamy, honeyed richness, with hints of apple, citrus, and peach.

   Gentil "Hugel" is an ideal introduction to the wines of Alsace.




March 3, 2008

SOL CLARO MALBEC
ORGANIC RED WINE
2005 MENDOZA, ARGENTINA

    In my opinion, and to my own personal tastes, this wine is, arguably, one of the top 10 most delicious wines at Harney's. Originally, the Malbec grape was French, from the Bordeaux region; it had limited success in the Old World. It was used for blending, adding color and tannin (for structure and backbone) to the wine. Argentina, the fourth largest wine producer in the world, has taken the Malbec grape, especially in this particular wine, and turned it into a lush and complex, medium- to full-bodied wine of intense ruby color, exhibiting rich and spicy dark fruit, with a long, smooth, soft finish.

    Years ago, when I first tasted a Malbec wine, it resonated deeply in me, but I couldn't name or place the dominant, distinctive flavor. Only recently have I been able to identify it: the aroma and flavor is unmistakably elderberry. My grandmother, in a small coal-mining town in Pennsylvania, had elderberry bushes at the bottom of her yard near the alleyway. Drinking Malbec now, brings me back 60 years, and adds a personal, warm, satisfying dimension to an already rewarding experience.

    A word about ORGANIC wines: The grapes are grown without fungicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers, with no additives or preservatives, which brings me to the topic of SULFITES: sulfites occur naturally during fermentation. Thus, all wines contain sulfites, even organic wines. Sulfites, as a preservative, prevent wine from turning into vinegar, and serve as an antioxidant, protecting a wine from the harmful influence of oxygen. Dry, red wines contain the least amount of sulfites, followed by dry white, and sweet wines contain the most sulfites. The bad effects some people experience after drinking a red wine is probably due to the antihistamine properties of the red wine and not to the sulfites. Many organic wine producers now specify on the label: NO ADDED SULFITES.