City Wine Merchants

Great Pairings at Ristorante Lombardo

I enjoyed a fantastic pairing diiner with a colleague last week at Buffalo's Ristorante Lombardo. Bravo to Tommy Lombardo, Jr. and his team for a great meal and great wine pairings. While Lombardo's remains one of Buffalo's classic Italian restaurants (over 35 years in business), Tommy is helping to transform the restaurant into an exciting vinoteca with one of the most exciting wine programs in town. He recently returned to Buffalo after spending time in New York City working around some of the hottest wine destinations in the city. He is clearly bringing a progressive approach with him, and I am excited to work with him and Lombardo's on wine events in the near future. In the meantime, I highly recommend checking out their themed wine pairing dinners. On our visit, we were treated to a partial preview of an upcoming Sicily-themed dinner. Some of the highlights were Murgo Brut Rose pairied with Blue Point Oysters and Horseradish Marmalata (one of the best pairings I've had in a long time), and Venturini Baldini Lambrusco with Tagliatelle Bolognese. Look for some of these wines at City Wine Merchant soon!

Our menu for the evening:

Murgo Brut Rose, 2009
with Tuna Tagliatta, blood oranges, fennel, arugula
and Blue Point Oysters with horseradish marmalata.

'Zagra' Valle dell'Acate 2011
with Grilled Octopus, pickled fennel, smoky white beans

'Quadrio' Valtellina Superiore, Nino Negri, 2009
with Wood Roasted Figs, gorgonzola, prosciutto

Venturini Baldini Lambrusco NV
with Tagliatelle Bolognese

COS Pithos Rosso, 2011
with Veal Marsala

Vigna la Miccia Marsala, Marco de Bartoli, NV
with Biscotti

Apr 4, 2013 at 9:30 AM

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Wine Record: 1975 and 1995 Trotanoy

I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a friend's home this week prepared by Chef Paula Danilowicz. Chef Paula is a true talent in the kitchen, and has a connection to some of Buffalo's most well-known restaurants. She did not disappoint on this night. Her delicious appetizers paired with well with Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 2009 and Peter Michael Chardonnay Ma Belle-Fille 2009. Both wines were enjoyable albeit not the focus of this night. I did not formally evaluate these wines. Our conversation topics ranged from Washington State wines to the NHL lockout (with a bit of fiscal cliff tossed in). For the record, no one was confident that there would be a hockey season. 

Our host cellars an impressive collection of Bordeaux, particularly from the right bank. I offered to bring a bottle of 1975 Trotanoy and we decided to pour the wine side-by-side with a 1995 Trotanoy from his impeccable cellar. I have never tasted any vertical of Trotanoy, so this was a special opportunity. I have always loved wines from this chateau (and have previously professed my love for right bank Bordeaux). Both wines were paired with a delicious duo of lamb chop and lamb loin, and both matched well with the dish. 

This Chateau is often referred to as the "little brother" of Petrus. I find that moniker somewhat unfair given that Trotanoy is itself a world-class wine. However, the vineyards of Trotanoy do sit a mere 1 km from Chateau Petrus, situated on clay and gravel soils. The wine is vinified and handled in exactly the same manner as Petrus (which is owned and managed by the same family), except that only 40% new oak barrels are used each year (compared with 100% at Petrus). The blend for the 1975 vintage is 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc (the vineyards are planted with a 90/10 ratio). I was anxious to taste the 1975 following Ian d’Agata’s recent positive review of the wine in March. The wine exceeded expectations. It delivered seamless layers of cherry, blackberry, violet and cedar, with a gorgeous backbone of mineral and very fine, integrated tannins. Amazingly, it was difficult to tell which wine – 1975 or 1995 – was the older vintage. 

The younger 1995 Trotanoy offered a completely different flavor profile, despite the identical blend. Tasting blind, I would have thought the wine included a higher percentage of Cabernet Franc than the actual 5%. Cedar and dried herbs were much more prominent in this vintage, and the tannins were slightly more broad than the 1975, as expected. This was an incredibly well-made and balanced wine. It lacked the purity of the 1975, but delivered more weight and soft texture. Overall, the two wines offered different, highly pleasurable experiences. However, I do not think the 1995 will have the long life that the 1975 is currently enjoying. I recommend drinking both vintages over the next 10-15 years. 

Overshadowed but definitely not forgotten was the 1990 Joseph Voillot Volnay 1er Cru Les Champans, enjoyed with wild mushroom consommé. Voillot, one of my favorite producers in Volnay, makes beautiful, generally long-lived wines. The wines, most under $100, also offer very good value. Les Champans is a 4.2 acre vineyard with vines dating from 1934, 1971, and 1985. It is one of the great vinayards in Volnay, and typically produces wines with bolder fruit than some of its more delicate counterparts in the region. I have often likened this wine to great wines from Chambolle-Musigny in the Cote de Nuits. Generally no more than 30% new oak barrels are used for aging the premier crus. The wine showed very nice dark garnet color, medium body, dark cherry and earth. Some of the fruit seemed tired, but the wine was still holding together. It is not the most complex wine from Champans I have had, but it should provide pleasure over the next 5-8 years. It was a nice match with the dish, and I felt we were drinking it at the right time.

Note: Wine Record posts are Eric Genau's reflections and tasting notes on food, wine and conversation enjoyed with friends and family. This is the only place you will see Eric formally "score" a wine. As with all scores, they are meant as a guide to help readers discover new wines that suit their own palates. Readers may find they have a similar palate to Eric's, or not at all, but hopefully these notes and scores provide some valuable guidance in any event. Likewise, drinking windows are provided only as a guide, and based solely (unless otherwise indicated) on a single bottle and singular experience. 

Nov 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM

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Wine Record: 1985 Chateau Lafleur at Rue Franklin

I dined with a colleague at Rue Franklin in Buffalo, one of Buffalo's longest standing restaurants. After spending years in the kitchen with longtime Chef and owner, Joel Lippes, Chef Corey Kley recently purchased the restaurant and has continued a tradition of excellent traditional cooking. I've always felt that the Rue was in somewhat of a unique category -- it is clearly one of Buffalo's more formal and traditional dining experiences, but it has the soul of a great neighborhood bistro. One thing is for sure, and that is that the Rue's food hasn't missed a beat under Chef Kley's ownership. Over the next couple of years, I expect that he will put some of his own touches on the food and overall experience. The room, while still one of the most elegant in town, could use some small updates. I would also be pleased to see an expanded, more interesting wine list, and perhaps an expanded focus on smaller producers and appellations. An update to the stemware would also add the overall experience for wine lovers. It is worth noting here that the Rue has one of the most beautiful garden patios of any restaurant I've visited. Sadly, it wasn't in the cards for this September visit.

My colleague shares my love for Right Bank Bordeaux. In fact, we both rank multiple vintages of Chateau Cheval Blanc among our all-time favorite wines. Tonight though, Pomerol (not Saint-Emilion) would be in the spotlight. I had mentioned to him recently that I had not had much experience with Chateau Lafleur, and this dinner and wine was his reaction to that. I was thrilled when he invited me to dinner and said that he wanted to share his bottle of 1985 Chateau Lafleur, a vintage he enjoyed in the past. As soon as our Filet Mignon arrived, we filled our glasses and spent a little time with the wine. 

This was an absolutely beautiful, powerful wine, still showing a deep garnet color. It exhibited aromas of figs, blackberries, licorice and leather. At the start, it reminded me of great Merlot from Italy - almost more like Masseto than Pomerol. After a few minutes in the glass, a dark cherry and mineral character took over. On the palate, it showed tremendous lift for a wine with this much weight. Layers of black and red fruit, figs, licorice and plum all follow through to an extremely long finish. There is something intriguing about this wine that made me want to hold the glass up to my nose again and again. Outstanding.

Located near the legendary Chateau Petrus, and across the road from Chateau Le Gay, this small estate clearly deserves to be mentioned as one of the world’s greatest wines. The vineyard (4 hectares) is planted with 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, and annual production is around 1,000 cases of the Grand Vin. Pomerol has no official wine ranking or classification, but it is clear who the stars are here: Petrus, Le Pin…and yes, Lafleur, all rank with the world’s best.

Note: Wine Record posts are Eric Genau's reflections and tasting notes on food, wine and conversation enjoyed with friends and family. This is the only place you will see Eric formally "score" a wine. As with all scores, they are meant as a guide to help readers discover new wines that suit their own palates. Readers may find they have a similar palate to Eric's, or not at all, but hopefully these notes and scores provide some valuable guidance in any event. Likewise, drinking windows are provided only as a guide, and based solely (unless otherwise indicated) on a single bottle and singular experience. 

Oct 7, 2012 at 9:43 PM

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Tasting Your Way Through the Tour de France

Happy July! It's time to gear up for Independence Day and the Tour de France...and it's one of the best times of the year to drink good wine. If you don't know already, I love wine and I love cycling. As always, the Tour's 2,200 mile, three week race, gives us an easy excuse to feature some of our favorite French wines. I've written before about how much I love this time of year:

I love this time of year.  The sun is out, flowers are in bloom, the new vintage of rosé is here for all to enjoy -- and the Tour de France rolls out on what also happens to be the birthday of our Country and my only son.  Pro Cycling is a pretty cool sport if you're a wine enthusiast.  Its three "Grand Tours" run through some of the world's greatest wine regions every year -- the Giro d'Italia (Italy), Vuelta a España (Spain) and the Tour de France.  Whether you ride or not, Le Tour is thrilling to watch.  The race itself is perhaps the most demanding athletic competition in the world, and the scenery is breathtaking.  There are few things more visually stunning than seeing a Peloton of color gliding through miles of vineyard roads.  It is inspiring in every respect, and it always makes me want to drink wine.

Keeping with tradition, we will be following the Tour closely with a series of tastings to explore France's unique regions. As always, the race itself rolls through some of France's most well-known wine appellations. The early days will see the riders glide through Épernay in the heart of Champagne (although they will probably wait until the ride into Paris to actually drink Champagne on the saddle), and through the Vosges Mountains just west of Alsace. Stage 10 brings the Peloton back to Maçon, the southernmost city in Burgundy, just north of the hills of Beaujolais. Maçon will be a stage town for the fifth time, and has hosted important time-trials in the past. Look for some excitement here! If only because we're going to use this opportunity to open some awesome wine. And don't forget to plan your Bastille Day festivities around the Stage 13 ride out of the Rhone Valley and into the Languedoc-Roussillon -- this is one the French riders really push hard to win. 

For every appellation you've heard of in France, there are probably ten you didn't know existed (there are over 300 recognized appellations)! And so this is also a great opportunity to open some of our most oddball wines from France so you can get in touch with your inner wine-geek. This is going to be a fun few weeks! We kick it all off with some wines from Champagne and Alsace on June 29th between 5-7pm. Check out our Events Calendar as we update all of our Tour-themed tastings. 

If you really want to go crazy, come up with some sort of Tour de France Wine Game. Here's a creative one we sort of borrowed from (randomly) the Phoenix New Times:

•    Each time Phil Liggett says a rider is "reaching into his suitcase of courage", take a drink.
•    Each time Paul Sherwen says "The elastic has snapped!", open a new bottle, fill everyone's glass and take a drink.
•    Each time Liggett or Sherwen corrects the other on some incorrect fact or observation, take a drink.
•    Each time Bob Roll says "Tour-Day-France", feel ashamed to be an American and take a drink.
•    Each time Liggett or Sherwen remark on the riders taking a "nature break", go ahead and take one yourself.

Jun 29, 2012 at 7:57 AM

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Wine Record: An Outstanding Evening with Vias Imports

Vias is one of the most renowned Italian wine importers in the US, and on Friday we were joined by our old friend, Maurizio Clemente to taste and talk about some great wines and producers from the Vias portfolio. I was particularly excited about this tasting because it gave me a chance to revisit and share some of the most memorable wines I tasted during my trip to Montalcino and Montepulciano in September. It also gave us an intimate setting to check-in on a couple great wines from the 2004 vintage - Fossacolle Brunello di Montalcino and Damilano Barolo Cannubi. I was especially impressed with these wines and am even more convinced that wines from 2004 (both from Piedmont and Tuscany) will provide great pleasure over the next 5 to 10 years.

If you weren't able to join us, here are my tasting notes and a bit of information about the wines that we opened.

Damilano Arneis Langhe 2010
We have carried a few vintages of this wine, and it was the perfect wine to kick-off a great evening. Winemaking by the Damilano family dates back to 1890 when Joseph Borgogno, great grandfather of current owners, began to cultivate grapes and make wine on their beautiful beautiful countryside property in the town of Piedmont Vezza Alba. This wine is 100% Arneis grape, which is often referred to as the "white Barolo" because of its richness and growing area around some of the most famous areas of Barolo. This was fresh and vibrant with tons of peach and passionfruit, balanced acidity and a really interesting almond hint on the finish. I've always liked how this wine manages to be both crisp and rich at the same time, and it definitely showed that way on this night. This is such a great value.

Tenuta Santa Tresa Rina Ianca Grillo Viognier 2009
I only recently discovered this wine and immediately found it to be one of the most enjoyable seafood matches I've had in a long time. The Feudo di Santa Tresa estate lies along the Mediterranean Sea, where the vineyards benefit from cool sea breezes and the fruit is perfectly ripened under the Sicilian sun. Rina Ianca is a unique blend of Viognier and Grillo and the name translates to "white sand" in the local language. This refreshing wine has a bouquet of pineapple and mango, and a beautiful straw yellow color. This is a great match for seafood, salads and pastas because of its perfect balance of citrus and tropical fruit flavors and bright acidity. Following the Arneis, this showed slightly more richness and texture, but the two wines complemented each other nicely.

Fattoria del Cerro Manero Rosso di Toscana 2009
This was the best value red I tasted during my time in Montepulciano in September. Cerro is one of the most beautiful properties in this region, and Manero is the estate's first wine from revered oenologist Riccardo Cotarella. A blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Merlot, it has very concentrated and intense aromas of wild berries, spices and a hint of truffle. The flavors here are well-rounded and decisive, and this delivers a big punch for this price point. What I like most about this wine is that you can really pull out the varietal characteristics of both the Sangiovese and Merlot, and this wine tastes Tuscan. Manero pairs well with roasted red meats and stews and aged cheeses, especially the many varieties of Pecorino produced in this area. This wine impresses me every time.

Fattoria del Cerro Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2006
I love this wine! This is one of Cerro's flagship wines, and one of my top 10 favorite wines tasted during my recent trip to Tuscany. The estate boasts 93 hectares of beautiful Vino Nobile vineyards, and the Riserva uses fruit from the best plots. This shows intense and concentrated wild black cherry, violet and spice aromas. Its flavor is full and persistent, with powerful, yet elegant and integrated tannins. This has really great structure, and should drink extremely well for the next 5-8 years. I had a chance to also taste the 2007 Riserva in Italy, and that is a similar, outstanding wine.

Colpetrone Sagrantino di Montefalco 2007
This is very well-priced blockbuster Sagrantino. Colpetrone is one of the most important wine producers in the Montefalco DOCG area and the tannin-rich Sagrantino grape is one of the most ancient varieties in Italy. This is strong and concentrated with an almost impenetrable ruby color, and an intense, ample perfume of wild berries and espresso. Red and black fruit, spices and vanilla really explode on the palate here, but it is the big, broad tannins that stand out most; this wine begs to be paired with food. It's a steak wine. This is just so big and structured, it should drink well for the next decade or more if the fruit can hold on. Even if it doesn't, this will be a treat over the next few years. It has both a rustic charm and a big modern forward character.

Fossacolle Brunello di Montalcino 2004
Fossacolle is a little family run estate owned by Sergio Marchetti. Along with this family, they take care of all the viticultural tasks throughout the tiny five acre vineyards and Marchetti's son-in-law, Adriano Bambagioni, is the winemaker. They literally consider the vineyard just an extension of their family garden! The small estate sits in a little Village called Tavernelle, in the south of Montalcino, where the vines are influenced by the sun and breezes from the Maremma coast to the west. This was the first real experiment of the night, because I hadn't tasted too much 2004 Brunello over the past year, opting to let this vintage evolve a bit more in bottle, and instead enjoy the more pretty and approachable wines from 2005 and 2006 After about two hours in a decanter, this wine started singing. Fine tannins were present but starting to give way to flavors of cherry and cranberry fruit and wild mushroom. This is a very focused and polished wine, especially considering its young age, and is both powerful and elegant. This wine was aged for a year each in large oak casks, smaller barrique and concrete tank, and I think the balanced method has created a wine that is very well integrated and put together. This seems to be entering a sweet spot, and it should stay in it and continue to get better over the next 5 to 10 years. The tannins are already very fine and polished. It may turn out to be one of the best surprises of the vintage.

Damilano Barolo Cannubi 2004
It has often been said that if Piedmont had a Grand Cru classification similar to Burgundy, the Cannubi vineyard – which covers a total of 15 hectares in the municipality of Barolo – would surely be considered one of the few true Grand Cru vineyards in Barolo. The Cannubi cru is one of the oldest in Italy, and the oldest known bottle in existence with Cannubi on the label is dated 1752. This 2004 edition continues a long line of delicious wines I've tasted from the vineyard. Damilano now makes more than 60% of the Barolo from this vineyard, so it makes sense to use this wine as the real measuring stick for all wines from Cannubi. We had this in the decanter for an hour and then back into the bottle for another hour before tasting. It had a really pretty medium red color, and pretty aromas of blackberry, mineral and licorice. The licorice turned more menthol as I swirled this in the glass. It is a beautiful wine to smell! On the palate, the tannins were fine grained and a bit dominating, but not so much that the fruit couldn't leap out of the glass. This has some great cherry pit and plum flavors. It is long and polished, and it should fully come together over the next year or two. Overall, this is a Barolo of medium body and good structure. There is a lot to like here, and it should remain a beautiful wine for the next 7-10 years. 

Note: Wine Record posts are Eric Genau's reflections and tasting notes on food, wine and conversation enjoyed with friends and family. This is the only place you will see Eric formally "score" a wine. As with all scores, they are meant as a guide to help readers discover new wines that suit their own palates. Readers may find they have a similar palate to Eric's, or not at all, but hopefully these notes and scores provide some valuable guidance in any event. Likewise, drinking windows are provided only as a guide, and based solely (unless otherwise indicated) on a single bottle and singular experience. 

Feb 12, 2012 at 4:44 PM

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Wine Record: 1961 Borgogno Barolo Riserva

Thanks to the generosity of a good friend who always shares his best wine, I recently had the pleasure of enjoying a stunning bottle of Borgogno Barolo Riserva 1961.  I thought it would be a nice opportunity to share some thoughts about the wine, and about old wine in general, and hopefully this will be the first of many posts around the idea of tasting history. 

There is something about tasting an old wine - the way it often develops in the glass, revealing new layers with the almost magical addition of air, can be stunning.  In my view, experiencing the alchemy of aged wine is the ultimate sensory experience for a wine lover. 

It is also like tasting history. Opening an old bottle is like waking something up from the dead and transporting it from another era into a new existence.  Likewise, it can take us back to another time.  I always like to think about a place in history when I drink an old wine, and suggest doing a bit of homework before you pop the cork, to get a sense of what was going on in the world when the grapes were actually harvested (probably by hand).  You don't need to dust off your 10th grade history book though.  Go to Wikipedia, type a year into the box, and you'll be amazed at what you can learn in just a few minutes.

Before opening the '61 Barolo, I learned that this was the year that Roger Maris hit 61 home runs for the Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record set in 1927.  I was reminded that JFK was inaugurated, and shortly thereafter took responsibilty for a failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.  Judy Garland performed a legendary concert at Carnegie Hall, and West Side Story was released on the silver screen.  In Italy, 15 people were killed at the F1 Italian Grand Prix after a Ferrari driver crashed into the stands.  JFK said we'd put a man on the moon before the end of the decade, and Princess Diana and Wayne Gretzky were born.

Having some reference points before opening a bottle like this helps to put the wine in perspective, and regardless of what it tastes like, commands an appreciation for drinking something that has been corked up for that long.  On this occasion, the wine just happened to be incredible. 

1961 was an outstanding vintage in Italy, and is generally considered the vintage of that decade (with due respect to 1967).  It produced typically full-bodied and rich reds from both Piedmont and Tuscany, and the Barolo in particular can be very long-lived.  This Borgogno possessed all the hallmarks of the great vintage, showing a deep red and brown color, layers of dried red fruit and firm tannins.  It showed incredible balance, and had the fruit and acidity to last another couple of decades.  This was the best old Barolo I've ever had.  But regardless of the wine's character, it was a unique experience to taste and talk about a place in history as if we could connect with it in some way.  The next time you have an opportunity to open something from a different time, slow yourself down and try to take yourself there! 

Note: Wine Record posts are Eric Genau's reflections and tasting notes on food, wine and conversation enjoyed with friends and family. This is the only place you will see Eric formally "score" a wine. As with all scores, they are meant as a guide to help readers discover new wines that suit their own palates. Readers may find they have a similar palate to Eric's, or not at all, but hopefully these notes and scores provide some valuable guidance in any event. Likewise, drinking windows are provided only as a guide, and based solely (unless otherwise indicated) on a single bottle and singular experience. 

May 27, 2011 at 11:00 AM

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Different Wines for Different Palates

One of our goals at City Wine Merchant is to get to know our customers well so that we can help find wines to suit individual palates. Everyone's tastes are different, and while we encourage everyone to discover and taste new wines, we know that our top priority is to recommend wines to people based on what we know they like.  That typically means that, in any given wine category, we will make every effort to have a broad selection of different producers, regions and styles. 

This week, I had the pleasure of meeting Stewart Boedecker, co-owner and winemaker of Oregon's Boedecker Cellars, who made our job a little easier in the Oregon Pinot Noir category.  As we tasted through a few of Stewart's 2007 and 2008 Pinot Noirs at City Wine Merchant, Stewart explained the unique philosophy of two of his flagship cuvees - they each reflect the different palates of him and his wife, Athena, who is a co-owner and winemaker.

As he explained, The Stewart is red fruited, full of bright acidity, soft tannins and herbal aromatics created mainly from Wadenswil and Pommard. The essence of the Athena cuvee shows a black to blue fruit core, heartier tannins and spice, components redolent of the clones developed in Dijon. 

For their cuvees, Boedecker works with some of Willamette's top Vineyards, including Shea and Momtazi.  Stewart stressed that the climate, the vineyards and the clones all influence the distinctiveness of the wines, and that their goal is to allow those differences to unfold in the wines.  For example, while the grapes are hand sorted in the vineyard, they once again sort them in the winery. They ferment in small lots, maintain each vineyard separately and monitor each lot by hand, by smell and by taste.

Once in barrel, the wines age for 18+ months. The barrels are all French oak, the wine is aged 9-10 months sur lie, on 30% new oak, the aged another 9-10 months off lees in all neutral barrels.  In order to determine which barrel of wine will bear the name of Stewart or Athena, they blind taste through each barrel, as many as 40 barrels at a time.

It is rare for a producer to focus on making two distinct styles, but in this case the result is two delicious, unique wines that exhibit the terroir and character of different vineyards, barrels, and techniques.  It is a great way to make wines that appeal to different palates, and a great way to keep things fun and interesting as a producer. When I asked him which one sold better, he had the diplomatic answer: they were tied!

If you are a fan of Pinot Noir, I encourage you to try both of these wines to decide for yourself which one better suits your palate.  The Boedecker Cellars Pinot Noir Stewart 2008 (WS92) and Boedecker Cellars Pinot Noir Athena 2007 are both available for under $30!  These are some of the best Pinot values we've seen out of Oregon to date!!

Feb 16, 2011 at 6:04 AM

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Revisiting Oregon Pinot Noir and Rethinking Champagne

When I wrote down my Wine Resolutions for the New Year back in December 2009, I was thinking of things that would help me to enjoy wine in 2010, and to help others continue on their wine journeys.  Looking back, if you followed at least one of the suggestions I noted - to Discover Oregon Wine -  it likely would have brought you great joy in 2010.  Little did I know then that we would see perhaps the greatest Pinot Noir vintage in U.S. history coming out of Oregon's Willamette Valley.  Simply put, 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir is my choice for the most exciting wine story of 2010.  And so, my first suggestion for 2011 is this:  If you have not yet tasted the Willamette Valley's 2008 Pinots, proceed immediately to your local wine merchant or online retailer and start buying these up (City Wine Merchant has a great selection)!  These wines will be completely gone from store shelves within the next 6 months (here's hoping the 2009 vintage follows-up well).

While my 2010 suggestions still apply this year and will help to heighten your wine enjoyment in 2011, it recently occurred to me that I completely missed the mark last year by not even mentioning Champagne!  I have long said that if I were trapped on a desert island and could only pick one thing to drink for the rest of my life, it would be Champagne (but I would miss the Pinot Noirs of Burgundy a lot).  Yes, good Champagne is unrivaled to accompany life's great celebrations, but it is so much more.  In 2011, make it a point to discover Grower Champagne (put down that bottle of Veuve Clicquot for a few months), and to drink Champagne with food. 

On New Year's Eve, my wife and I were reminded of Champagne's great food-pairing potential as we enjoyed a near perfect meal at Seabar, one of our favorite restaurants in Buffalo.  If you haven't experienced Chef Mike Andrzejewski's brilliance, you are missing out (check out Mike's NYC dinner at the James Beard House in February).  For Champagne, Vilmart & Cie Champagne 'Grand Cellier' (a blend of 30% Chardonnay and 70% Pinot Noir) was the choice of the night.  After enjoying a magical pairing with Washington State oysters, my entree of grilled shrimp and goat's cheese potato pierogi blew my mind.  The dish was a crazy fusion of flavors, made with a red wine sauce and sauteed onions, and I can think of no better match for this than the toasty Champagne.  Sound odd?  Try it.  Every component of the Champagne had a complement in the food, and vice versa.  It was a great example of how Champagne can be great with food, and it was a perfect way to end a great 2010. 

Thank you to everyone for supporting City Wine Merchant in 2010.  Cheers to a happy and productive 2011!

Jan 11, 2011 at 9:20 AM

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A Ride Through Champagne

I love this time of year.  The sun is out, flowers are in bloom, the new vintage of rosé is here for all to enjoy -- and the Tour de France rolls out on what also happens to be the birthday of our Country and my only son.  Pro Cycling is a pretty cool sport if you're a wine enthusiast.  Its three "Grand Tours" run through some of the world's greatest wine regions every year -- the Giro d'Italia (Italy), Vuelta a España (Spain) and the Tour de France.  Whether you ride or not, Le Tour is thrilling to watch.  The race itself is perhaps the most demanding athletic competition in the world, and the scenery is breathtaking.  There are few things more visually stunning than seeing a Peloton of color gliding through miles of vineyard roads.  It is inspiring in every respect, and it always makes me want to drink wine. 

The 2010 Tour will be no exception, with stages through some of France's greatest wine regions.  Stages 4 and 5 roll through the very heart of Champagne, with stops in Reims and Épernay, the commercial centers of the world's greatest sparkling wine region, and home to classic Champagne houses such as Taittinger and Perrier-Jouet.  Stages 18 and 19 ride straight through Bordeaux's left bank, including St.-Julien and a stage-end in Pauillac, the mythical home of Château Mouton Rothschild and other giants of the wine world.  Because of this great 2,200 mile, three week race, July is a perfect time to feature some of our favorite French wines!

Throughout this year's Tour, we will be featuring some of our favorite wines from the various Stage regions.  To help maximize your Tour enjoyment this week, we are excited to feature one of our favorite Grower Champagne values: Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Selection Belles Annees.  Gimonnet is considered a benchmark for quality in Champagne, and this entry selection doesn't disappoint. This is 100% Chardonnay with nearly 75% from Grand Cru villages. The chalky soils in the Côte des Blancs create wines of incredible focus and minerality. Intensely floral and spicy on the nose, which displays tangerine and pear scents. Orchard fruits and lemon on the palate, with floral honey, and a sappy finish. If you haven't discovered Grower Champagne, this is a perfect place to start!  And it's even better while watching some of the world's greatest athletes ride through the fabled countryside where it is made.  Stage 5 through Champagne will air on Versus in the on July 8, the same day we will have this bottle open to taste!

Jul 8, 2010 at 8:04 AM

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Le Macchiole Paleo Rosso 2002: Why You Can't Generalize When Talking About Wine

Every month there is a wine at City Wine Merchant that I am most excited about. A wine that surprises me and exceeds expectations, and often changes what I think I "know" about wine. Over the past month, that wine is Le Macchiole's Paleo Rosso 2002. It is a wine from the "worst" vintage in Italy in at least more than a decade.

The wine world - for better or for worse (everyone has an opinion) - is dominated by big media. This can be good because wine consumers have unprecedented access to both wine from around the world, as well as wine information. It can be bad because that information is really largely controlled by a few big sources (Robert Parker and Wine Spectator are the biggest). We can debate that all day long, but I'd like to focus on one specific potential by-product of the media-centric wine industry. That is, the generalizing of vintages, regions and varietals.

Wine consumers and enthusiasts are remarkably influenced by the likes of Parker and Spectator, whether we like it or not. We love wine, and so we immerse ourselves in what others (the "experts") write and think. Why? Because we simply cannot taste all the wine that they do! And so, when one of the experts goes to Tuscany to report on a vintage, we pay attention.

In the case of 2002, we were told that it was the weakest vintage for reds in Italy since at least 1994. Some producers in Piedmont did not release any Dolcetto, Barbera or Barolo. Even fewer producers released "cru" Barolo, and what was released was immediately met with scores not fit for such wines. In Tuscany, 2002 was actually a mixed bag as compared with Piedmont, but production was also down an average of 30-40%, and producers generally declassified to at least improve the quality of the basic wines. In short, the average consumer in the U.S. was told that 2002 Italian reds weren't worth our time and money, and we all pretty much moved on to 2003 (or even better, revisited 2001).

I was among those wine consumers. Very few 2002 Italian reds made it onto store shelves, and I can't remember a single memorable bottle from that vintage until now. I'm not shocked that this 2002 Paleo excites me. Le Macchiole has serious pedigree, and is long recognized as one of the pioneers of the Bolgheri area of Tuscany, along with the likes of Sassicaia and Ornellaia. These wines created the Super-Tuscan category. But this wine definitely was like a splash of cold water to the face, reminding me that we can't generalize things in the wine world.  In fairness, International Wine Cellar did recognize the Paleo Rosso as "one of the most successful wines of Italy's 2002 vintage."  But who was paying attention?

Good wine is all about people and places, and every wine is different.  When we generalize about a macro-region (Tuscany), we may miss something very unique to a specific vineyard in Tuscany, for instance.  When we talk about weather in a macro sense (2002 was "cold and wet"), we ignore the possibility that certain vineyards or varietals fared better than others, and that certain producers handled harvesting more successfully.  We are all guilty of generalizations in the wine world, maybe because it helps make us all sound like we "know" something.  I thought I knew that 2002 reds from Tuscany weren't worth my time.  And yet, here I am surrounded by wines from dozens of vintages and regions around the world, and I am super-excited about a 2002 Tuscan throw-away.  It's a delicious, layered wine with aromatics that force me to hold the glass to my nose for minutes at a time.  It is one of the most enjoyable expressions of Cabernet Franc I've ever had.  I'm glad I took my own journey and traveled down this unlikely road.

And so, as I enjoy the last few bottles of this beauty, I will try to remind myself to always taste and buy wine with an open mind.  Try to throw away the conventional wisdom once in a while.  Maybe, just maybe, something will surprise you.  One reward for those who think out of the box a little?  In a "good" vintage, you could expect to pay $80-$100 for this wine.  You can enjoy this 2002 for less than half the price!

Jan 11, 2010 at 12:00 PM

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