Gordon's Fine Wines and Liquors

Vibrancy

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:50:23 EDT

Gordon's Daily Flash: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 The Maremma is a coastal area in southern Tuscany, in and around the province of Grosseto. It was traditionally populated by the Butteri, cattle-breeders who used horses until recently. Today the Maremma is one of the best tourist destinations in Italy, where ancient traditions have survived and Tuscan culture is preserved. The village Scansano lies within Maremma and is noted for Morellino di Scansano, from indigenous Morellino grapes (a variant of Sangiovese). In 1994, Erik Banti opened his winery in Scansano where he uses organic farming techniques in the making of his wines. His concentration has been on the Morellino grape, and his reserve Ciabatta offers an intense ruby red color as a prelude to the aromatic nuances of black cherry, damson plums, and a m�lange of black fruits, chocolate and floral notes. The silky palate is balanced, vibrant, and buoyant; the body is intense but not heavy, and the focused tannins offer a clean and rounded structure. The finish is persistent, but never tires and lifts the appetite which, ideally, will be satisfied with roasted or grilled red meats, game, and traditional Maremma dishes like lamb stew and mature cheeses. Banti�s commitment to the specific terroir of his vineyards near Montemerano at 330m is not to be doubted. His yields for Ciabatta are limited: a severe pruning allows for a maximum yield of 65 hectoliters per hectare. Also, to allow his grapes to ripen naturally, Banti does not allow any artificial irrigation methods, not even for "emergencies." He believes the microclimate influenced by the proximity to the sea, makes for milder temperatures, and an ample amount of rain in summer - so the grapes ripen early. His harvest is strictly manual to preserve the integrity of the fruit until it reaches the cellars. His fermentation of his 100% Sangiovese, picked in late September, begins with light crushing and subsequent fermentation and maceration on the skins for 15 days. The wine is aged for about a year in stainless steel vats and for 13 months in barriques and medium-sized (1000l.) Slavonian oak barrels. Banti, a modern-traditionalist, combines the best of the old and the new. He has taken giant steps in leaving behind the old oxidized relics of the over-produced and neglected viticulture of the Maremma's past, but at the same time he has not sacrificed his sense of place. The vibrancy of his wine is suggestive of the emerging importance of this old and new wine culture. 2005 Ciabatta Net $16.99 Due tommorrow Bob Kaplan

Getting clear on the concept

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:22:49 EDT

Still not clear on the concept of terroir? Drink Chablis. There is NO wine more individual in style or more instantly connectible to the place where it was grown (which makes it all the more cruel an irony that American jug wine producers have expropriated ITS name for their blandest bulk whites), and yet Chablis is made from Chardonnay, one of the most widely planted varieties in the world.

Chablis is the proof that a varietal label is practically meaningless, because the word Chardonnay would NEVER lead you to expect what you�re going to find inside a bottle of Chablis. Chablis is a lean and finely chiseled, high acid, mineral white. It trades on intensity and refinement rather than fatness, sweetness, or vanillins. It can�t be made in the absence of chalk soils or cool temperatures. (You�ll see more frost protection devices in Chablis than just about anywhere else.) In fact it can�t be made a mile from where it IS made, even in nearby places with chalk soils and appropriately angled slopes.

Because as much as any wine made anywhere, Chablis shows that terroir isn�t just a matter of individuality, it�s a matter of MATCHING a variety�s needs for warmth, sunlight, and water to the amounts of each (and to their proportions one to another) available in different places. In some places that match is PERFECT. Five hundred yards away it might just be approximate.

The magic of terroir isn�t just that wines from different places are different from each other, it�s that in a few rare places that difference expresses itself as such a complete, overwhelmingly self-evident RIGHTNESS of character, proportion, and refinement.

THAT, in a good year, is what Chablis does.

2005 was a VERY good year in Chablis, and the best 2005s have exactly the burning CUT and furious intensity the name Chablis promises (when not being used by the intellectual pirates of San Joaquin). The 2005 Premier Cru Vauligneau from Domaine de la Motte was fermented and aged in steel, then bottled unadorned in its pure and proud expression of the lean, fierce virtues of this most northern of fine Burgundies, this perfect combination of variety, soil, and season, this RIGHTNESS of character, proportion, and refinement.

This is an 8 or 9 year wine. It is GOOD right now. It WILL be even better.

2005 Domaine de la Motte Chablis Premier Cru Vauligneau $23 net

Due Thursday

David Raines

2006 Los Quimiles Torrontes

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:50:30 EDT

Gordon's Daily Flash: Friday, June 26th, 2008 �It smells like Alsace,� �It smells like Muscat,� �It smells like Gew�rztraminer,� said we. It�s none of the above. Its floral bouquet is stunning and you can�t help but think you are about to taste something a little sweet, honeyed and floral, like Muscat or Alsatian Gew�rztraminer. We were wrong. The Argentine province, La Salta, is well-known for its desert landscapes, dried peppers, sport-fishing, tobacco, and the highest road in the Americas: at 4,890 meters, it is higher than Mont Blanc, the tallest peak in Europe. It is not known for wine; we all know that Argentine wine comes from Mendoza. Wrong again. It�s true that Mendoza produces the vast majority of the country�s wine, but the most Argentine of varietals comes from La Salta. And no, it�s not Malbec. While Argentina is famous for its wines made of the Cahors varietal, Malbec, Torront�s is the real Argentine varietal. A typical Torront�s boasts a floral bouquet and the varietal does indeed lend itself to late-harvest off-dry to sweet wines, but this wine isn�t sweet, nor is it a typical dry Torront�s either. The history of Torront�s in Argentina is little-known. It seems to have been growing there for a long time, suggesting that it was brought with Spanish missionaries or colonists long before the Italians brought vines like Bonarda and even longer before any Malbec, Cabernet, Chardonnay and the like ever appeared. (I learned on a recent trip to Argentine wine country that until about fifteen years ago, Bonarda was the most planted and cultivated grape over Malbec.) We do know a little more about this grape than its Argentine history. Though the Spaniards have a grape called Torrontes as well, the relation is uncertain. Recent DNA testing has shown it to be related to the Malvasia group from the Eastern Mediterranean, which has found its way to many islands of the Atlantic, including Madeira. There are two major types in Argentina, Torrontes Riojano and Torrontes Sanjuanino which are closely related, but a third, Torrontes Mendocino has ampelographic differences that suggest it may be something else. Like many grapes, it has other names: Aris, Albari�o Frances and, unsurprisingly, Moscatel de Austria, a name that clearly comes from its bouquet. The first impression in the mouth is a bit Alsatiany Gew�rztraminerish, but the full roundness up front dissolves into bright, crisp pear blossoms with a little pit fruit thrown in. It finishes dry, like a lingering sunny spring day that makes you want to run through the sprinkler. 2006 Los Quimil�s Torront�s, $9.99 net. John Raeder

Fresh Mozzarella Making, with Assorted Italian Apps & Wine

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:22:02 EDT

Yvette Taylor, Queen of the Pantry, will be instructing on how to make your own fresh mozzarella cheese, and will then incorporate it into other simple Italian appetizers,ideal for outdoor summer gatherings. This class will be part demo/part hands-on. Italian wines such as Barbera, Sangiovese, Soave, and Prosecco will be paired with each dish. And of course everything will be prepared during class, ready to taste at the end!

Sample Items:

� Brochettes of melon, prosciutto, mozzarella (on skewars)

� Fresh pear, pecorino and honey bruschetta

� Heirloom tomato, mozzarella, basil salad

� Antipasti with assorted cheeses (bresaola, salami, prosciutto, marinated mushrooms & artichokes, grilled eggplant and peppers, mixed olives, anchovies, etc)

� Salad of Mozzarella, Crispy Prosciutto, Figs & Arugula with Honeyed Vinaigrette

� Stuffed Bocconcini

� Avocado, tomato, mozzarella pasta salad

Darwin's Riesling

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:32:03 EDT

There�s a story in Darwin�s autobiography about a visit he made as a student to a Welsh valley, where he and his professor spent an afternoon searching for fossils, completely oblivious to the signs all around them that the valley had been carved out by a glacier during one of the ice ages.

Science hadn�t yet figured out that there had BEEN ice ages, so scientists confronted with their traces were unable to see that now obvious evidence as anything other than random happenstance.

That�s how it is with Riesling Trocken, too.

If you follow the American press, dry German wine still lags behind the sweet kind in the scores it gets. And it�s pretty obvious from a quick glance at any retailer�s shelves what kind of German wine most Americans buy.

And, yeah, sure there�s a lot to be said for the sweet ones, too. In fact NO country does sweet wine with the delicacy, purity of flavor, and just out and out prettiness the best German growers manage year after year after year.

But since that�s as far as current Riesling theory (in this country) goes, the American branch of Wine Appreciation Science just can�t seem to even see that dry Riesling EXISTS, that it is one of the most SATISFYING categories of dry white wine, and that it presents us with a whole WORLD of opportunity to supply ourselves with refinement and distinction at far less than the usual price of such things.

The simple truth is that the best German growers can give you the same things the ones in Chablis and Sancerre do: powerfully flavored, razor-sharp, whippet-sleek dry whites that refresh and enliven the palate as aperitifs and provide a match so perfect with seafood you might give up serving it with anything else.

At my house we drink a range of dry Rieslings, but the one we drink the most often is the Gutzler, from the Rheinhessen, where the limestone soils (as opposed to the slate soils of most top German vineyards) maybe give the wines a little more familiar character, a little closer familial tie to Chablis and Sancerre, a little more fire and ice.

In fact, if Cheryl will allow me to borrow her signature line for a second, I can honestly say I LOVE this wine. I LOVE its steely acidity, its precise varietal definition, its length, its intensity, its finish.

And I love its PRICE, which hasn�t changed, ex cellars, in four years, though the 2007 will be $2 more when it arrives.

And speaking of that 2007, I know I�ve been talking up that vintage for Germany, but it�s apparently not going to be as easy a year for dry wines as it is for sweet ones: Gerhardt Gutzler�s 2007 Riesling finished with too much residual sugar to qualify as Trocken.

So now is the time, my friends. There are only 23 cases and they�re going to have to last us till the 2008 gets here. $12.

Now how can you not take a shot at THAT?

2006 Weingut Gutzler Riesling Trocken $12 net

Due Friday

David Raines

The three shades of green

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:56:56 EDT

What on earth is the story with Nebbiolo? It is UNIVERSALLY acknowledged to be one of the finest grape varieties known to modern viticulture, but it is grown NO WHERE outside of Italy�s Piemonte. Or at least it�s grown no where else with anywhere near so interesting a result.

Seriously, how could a variety yield such dense, complex, aromatic, and flavorful wines in one place and not even be worth experimenting with anywhere else?

I guess you have to start with that one place.

The Piemonte is not like anywhere else. On a sunny day the snow-capped peaks that border it to the north, west, and south give it a look more reminiscent of Colorado than of the rest of Italy. The Mediterranean seems FAR away. The mountains are definitely CLOSE.

But it�s not exactly a mountain landscape either. Most of the Piemonte is dead flat and dusty brown. And very little of it is planted to vines.

It�s only in the foothills of the (lower) mountains to the south that vineyards appear. And it really is just the hills: the flat spots in between are devoted to less noble ends.

But the southern, eastern, and western slopes of the steep hills and ridges that surround the town of Alba are BLANKETED with vines, and just as in Burgundy or Germany, each little wrinkle of slope or change of soil is baptized with its own name and blessed with its own reputation.

The Cur� (or Curr�, depending on whose label you�re reading) cru in Barbaresco is a high southwest-facing ridge that captures the warmth of the afternoon sun and yields wines of great ripeness and fullness. The 2004 Cur� from Adriana Marzi is almost even SWEET up front, at least it SMELLS sweet in a lovely, sensuous, inviting kind of way.

In the mouth it has PLENTY of structure (this IS Nebbiolo we�re dealing with), but its texture is pure satin, and its flavors are refined, and even distinguished. It is ABSOLUTELY authentic Piemontese Nebbiolo.

According to Adriana and her husband Roberto, the key is three different shades of green harvesting. �To make great wine you have to go three times to the vines to drop fruit, and it has to be after August or the vine will compensate by pumping up the berries,� they told me. �You have to go once to remove any bunch that�s touching another, because as they grow they�ll burst each others� skins. Then when the harvest is near you have to go back and remove the bunches that have grown too long. Then you go back a third times for the ugly ones.�

2004 was, as I believe Cheryl has reminded you a few times by now, a fabulous year for the Piemonte. Here is a beautiful 2004 that can be drunk with great pleasure already, or held for at least 10 years. 2 bicchieri from Gambero Rosso 2008. Highly recommended.

2004 Cantina del Glicine Barbaresco Cur� $34 net pre-arrival (DUE mid-July)

David Raines

Mixology Crash Course with Chris Rose

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:54:11 EDT

More info to come...great for groups!

Any requests for this class, as far as types of drinks, email Lindsay at lcohen@gordonswine.com

An Oceanic Tour with Fine Wine Collections Inc

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:48:34 EDT

Barry Savage, President of Fine Wine Collections and a native Australian from Adelaide, is coming to show some of the best from his portfolio and convey the breadth and depth of some classic styles and "hidden" gems from Oceania, ie Australia and New Zealand. Although shiraz will always be Australia's flagship grape, numerous varietals thrive under the favorable climatic and ecological conditions of the continent. And see why New Zealand is becoming the preeminent region for sauvignon blanc and rieslings.

Featured wines:

Whites:

Mission Estate Sauvignon Blanc � Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Brightwater Vineyards Riesling (dry) � Nelson, New Zealand

Arrowfield Estate Sophies Bridge Verdelho � Hunter Valley, Australia

Fat Tree Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc � Hunter Valley

Reds

Arrowfield Estate Show Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon � McLaren Vale/Clare Valley, Australia

Hanging Rock Yin Barun Merlot/Cabernet Franc � Victoria, Australia

ROCK Shiraz/Pinot Noir/Malbec/Grenache � Victoria, Australia

First Crush

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:26:38 EDT

...catchy title...has e-mail possibilities...(my thoughts looking at the bottle I was about to taste)...2007 Bedell Cellars First Crush White...

...and then I tasted..."LOVE IT...this IS an e-mail wine", I said.

Bedell Cellars was founded in the early 1980s by Kip Bedell. It is said to be the premier winery on the North Fork of Long Island (oy), located in the small town of Cutchogue. What started in a potato barn has become a state-of-the-art winery boasting custom designed open-top fermenting tanks and a gravity-driven regime to minimize pumping and filtering.

This 2007 is Bedell Cellar's debut vintage of First Crush White...and it's a blockbuster hit!

The wine is a blend of 82% Chardonnay and 18% Viognier. They use the fruit of their young vines and declassified growths from the Estate vineyards (a true second wine by nature). Fermentation and aging take place ONLY in stainless steel tanks...NO OAK (happy days!).

The very cold conditions used for the aging process, bring brightness to the fruit.

The 2007 Bedell Cellars First Crush White is not only bright...it is clean, crisp and alive. Citrus and tropical fruits dance all over the palate. It is perfectly balanced...great acidity...huge mouthfeel and a long finish.

THIS wine is just downright DELICIOUS! What's there not to love!

2007 Bedell Cellars First Crush White $10.39/net

Due Tuesday

-Cheryl Lechan

Changing my tiny mind

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:44:25 EDT

Maybe this has something to do with global warming. Maybe it's because we have so few wet, cold years now.

Probably not.

Probably I just wasn't paying attention.

But I'm sure changing weather patterns aren't hurting the cause, because the fact IS that the Loire valley is wide open to weather coming in from the Atlantic. It doesn't have a highland barrier to protect it the way Burgundy and Alsace do. It IS cooler and it IS wetter.

So in the past, many vintages produced wines there that did NOTHING to fix the region's potential in the tiny minds of those like me who more or less ignored it.

No more: Loire Chenin is one of the world's most ROCKING wines.

Of course there isn't any SINGLE Chenin. There are as many different Chenin types as there are soil types and sub-climates.

But from the steely mineral dry wines of Savenni�res and Vouvray (Sec) to the opulent, sometimes even oily ones of Coteaux du Layon, the beauty of Chenin's characteristic FLAVORS shines through with an intensity and precision that HAVE to place this variety among the world's very very BEST.

One of the LEAST well known of the MAJOR Loire Chenins is produced at Montlouis, which sits directly across the Loire from Vouvray, and which actually sold its wines AS Vouvray in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Montlouis's climate is the same as Vouvray's, as are its subsoils, which are chalk and limestone. But there's a layer of sandy clay at the surface of just about the entire Montlouis AOC, making its wines less steely than those across the way, where much of the chalk layer that lies below the clay in Montlouis is at the surface.

Vouvray's vines get less water, build less body, and have IDEAL acidities to be fermented sweet.

There are many sweet Montlouis as well, but with its denser textures and deeper flavors Montlouis doesn't need residual sugar to provide palate excitation. It provides it with big, deep, intense flavors dry enough to serve with seafood and big enough to serve with turkey or pork.

The Domaine de la Grange Tiphaine's 2006 dry Montlouis (Clefs de Sol) is an excellent example of the type. LAYERED with complex, multi-faceted flavors, it is a big, bold, and beautiful expression of ONE of Chenin's most handsome faces.

Beyond that it is an immensely FINE white wine with the character and power to substitute for white Burgundy, Bordeaux or new world Chardonnay.

And while the notion of Vive la Difference may no longer be politically correct in every domain of modern life, in wine it still applies.

2006 Domaine la Grange Tiphaine, Montlouis, Clefs de Sol (100% Chenin) $20/net In stock

-David Raines

Currantly speaking

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:13:25 EDT

...and the 2006 Domaine Jean-Marc Burgaud Chateau De Thulon Beaujolais-Villages speaks volumes...of black currants.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting and tasting with Jean-Marc Burgaud, owner and winemaker of Domaine Jean-Marc Burgaud. He is young, ambitious and very talented.

The first wine we tasted was his 2006 Chateau De Thulon Beaujolais-Villages.

The color...VIBRANT...

the nose...GORGEOUS aroma of black currant (cassis)...the palate...black currant and hints of spice, ripe tannins, great acidity and a long finish...A young wine with depth and character that should be enjoyed in its youth. Beaujolais has never been my "go to" wine. I will now be "going" to THIS Beaujolais.

The Chateau De Thulon is a 12th century chateau once owned by Jean-Marc's great Aunt. It is located in the village of Lantignie, one of the best villages with hillsides and granite soil. Jean-Marc makes and bottles his Beaujolais-Villages in the cellar of the Chateau (hence, the name). This wine is 100% Gamay from 50 year old vines. It sees

5-6 day whole grape maceration and then raised in tank for 4-5 months.

This is by far the BEST Beaujolais-Villages I have ever had...and I LOVE it!

...the PERFECT Beaujolais-Villages at the PERFECT price...

2006 Domaine Jean-Marc Burgaud Chateau De Thulon Beaujolais-Villages $9.59/net Due Thursday

-Cheryl Lechan

Food & Whisky Pairing (3 of 3-class series)

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:52:09 EDT

More info to come...

Whiskies of the World (2 of 3-class series)

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:43:52 EDT

More info to come...

Organolyptic Approach to Tasting Whiskies (1 of 3-class series)

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:41:12 EDT

More info to come...

Feudi di San Gregorio Seminar

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:12:36 EDT

Join us in welcoming Robin Shay, Certified Sommelier and Export Manager for Feudi di San Gregorio wines, as he takes us through some of his spectacular wines, produced in the oft overlooked region of Campania, Italy. Feudi San Gregorio, established in 1986, has succeeded in capitalizing on the unique terroir of the region and has put a modern spin on some older indigenous grapes. They are also pioneers in state-of-the-art winemaking technology such as the solar-powered meteorological station they have that closely monitors the environment and enables eco-compatible viticulture.

Robin Shay has an impressive resume including an Int'l Business Degree from Spain and Italy, Sommelier Certification, harvests in Bordeaux and Napa, and now a part of Feudi di San Gregorio. I'm sure he will wow us with his knowledge and be able to answer any and all questions.

Featured wines:

Falanghina DOCG

Fiano DOCG

Greco Di Tufo

Rubrato

Tuarasi Selve di Luoti

*Online Registration still required for complimentary events