the artistry behind NakedWines

NAKED WINES

When the good people at Naked Wines asked me to endorse their efforts, I responded as honestly as I could:

“Folks: I’ve never heard of most of your winemakers and I’ve never tasted any of these wines. I can’t endorse what I don’t know. “

So they sent me a half-case of wine. Nice!

I tried to keep my mind free and rid myself of any preconceptions but the marketplace is flooded with wines that are at best created by “style-gurus” and at worst sugary-chemical-broths masquerading as wine. I dreaded that this would be another “Apothic” story but did my due diligence: I let the wines rest after their long journey, I opened them one at a time and gave them my fullest attention. It turns out – the culture of wine clubs is changing dramatically.

Meet NAKED WINES: the wine-lovers newest bestest friend. Forever??

This is the place where you as a consumer get to move past the hype, the slick-sales-talk, the bullshit. This is the place where artisanal winemakers come to be judged by you – the consumer. If Naked Wines likes their work they will invest your money and bankroll the winemaker’s efforts to create something worthy of notice. You as the financier (you and 49,999 like-minded individuals) reap the whirlwind when you buy these wines at a fraction of their marketplace value and get to feel like a king. The wines do well and the winemaker keeps working his/her craft with feedback from hundreds, thousands of consumers like you on a regular basis.

Want added perks? How about being able to talk with these winemakers on a regular basis on the Naked Wines website? How about being given a free bottle of premium wine every month? Catch? Catch you ask? Yes, there is a catch – – – – you have to trust. You have to trust Naked Wines to keep investing your $40 per month into winemakers you’ve never met, who don’t have these wines in the local stores. Your local restaurant will not have these wines listed and no – no – NO you can’t ask your favorite wine-geek friend to tell you all about them and recommend the best.

Because your wine-geek friend probably doesn’t know anything about David Akiyoshi or Camille Benitah. That is, unless your friend is also a Naked Wines “Angel”.

Rowan Ghormley, founder and CEO of Naked Wines, courtesy The Telegraph

And I’m not the one who’s going to tell you to join these fine folks. The truth is, they don’t have room for new members anyways; there’s a waiting list of over 13,000 people who want to join the US club alone. And it’s not for everyone! This is not a wine-Mecca for the masses; the friends who come over and when you ask if they’ld like some Merlot they respond with “No thanks, I only drinkred wine.”

This is not to make it sound elitist, because it isn’t, but some consumers/some people are always out there looking for “something cheaper” whilst others are looking for a “better deal”. I don’t care about price I care about value. Show me a great value for $10 or show me a great value for $30 and I’m a happy guy and that’s something I can stand behind: if I had bought the 5 wines listed below, as a Naked Wine “Angel” I would have paid less than $70 USD.

Shut the front door! AMAZING VALUE! I live in British Columbia, Canada: second highest liquor tax in the world (after Sweden) and I couldn’t buy two of these bottles for $70. If you really enjoy 2-buck-chuck and Apothic then power to you. If you don’t; if you love searching farmers markets for the freshest produce, if you drive down to the fisherman’s wharf for the freshest catch, if you care about quality then you have to try these wines!

Five wines: four #WorldClass stars and one that, for whatever reason, just didn’t live up to the standard. But I consider that a stunning win. In an industry where I will sometimes taste a hundred wines in a row before giving 92 points… well, you can read for yourselves….

 2013 “Mont Blanc” Sauvignon Blanc

Lake County, California

by Camille Benitah

91+ points, EXCELLENT Value

… to me this wine is deserving of the moniker “Mont Blanc”: clean, purist mineral tones drive a palate so fresh, so powerful, that it seems to have blown down the side of that impressive Swiss mountainside. Here is a superbly crafted articulation of Lake County and of the varietal. Truly, one of the best California Sauv-Blancs I’ve ever had; the bouquet has layers of small white flowers and summer gardens in bloom to balance the austerely elegant granite and slate mineral backbone. Enamel-peeling full lemon zest acid somehow seem perfectly balanced yet crave a New York bagel “wit a schmear” or fresh Atlantic lobster drown in clarified butter. These zealous Meyer lemon, white grapefruit and ripe lime flavors collide into something that makes me instinctually remember the best ceviche and crave just one – more – bite as I savor what’s left in my glass. Enjoy this now and enjoy this often for, though it could hold for many years, the Stelvin enclosure prevents development in bottle and – brilliant as this is – why wait??

2013 Akiyoshi Sauvignon Blanc

Musque Clone

Lodi, California

by David Akiyoshi

92 points, STUNNING

… even after a few years of sommelier education and penning hundreds of articles, I was stumped when I read “Musque Clone” scrawled with such dominance on David Akiyoshi’s label. What was “Musque” and why was it so damned important? It turns out that “Musque” is perhaps more important (and controversial) then I could have expected: in general it refers to a “musky” quality that can result from genetic variation/development in a grape varietal. What does this mean in real terms? Well gewürztraminer is actually a “Musque clone” of Traminer which is, for all intents and purposes, a dying varietal. So is gewürztraminer it’s own varietal or is it a “Musque clone”? Who should decide and how should it be labelled? Well in this instance, second generation winemaker David decided that what was in the bottle was Sauv-Blanc first and foremost, Musque-clone second. I concur! Whilst the perfumed bouquet offers a bounty of heady floral tones, warm exotic fruit compote and hints of Arabic spice straight from the Sook, the palate of this wine is pure Sauv-Blanc;  unadorned full citrus acid almost Pinot Grigio-like in intensity but with a balance and concentration of peripheral tones (white tea, young mango, kumquat, green apple) that turns this into a chef’s dream… the 80’s classic dish: “Neptune” comes to mind immediately: picture a filet of fresh white fish (pike for those on the Prairies, Red Snapper for the WestCoast and cod on the East. Pan-sear the fish and top it with crab-meat mixed with scallops and perhaps rough chopped prawns, then a few pieces of young asparagus, then Hollandaise sauce. Now – wait for it – scorch or brulée that sauce with a chef’s torch for just a moment… Neptune: over-the-top richness to play off the exuberance of this consummate wine!

2013 Akiyoshi Sangiovese Rosé

quite possibly my top rose for 2014

Lodi, California

by David Akiyoshi

92+ points, STUNNING

…if ever a wine was crafted for the express purpose of beating the summer heat, rosé must surely be it: so light, so refreshing, so perfectly suited for the middle of the afternoon with a half loaf of fresh bread, a hunk of good cheese and some artisanal cold cuts. David Akiyoshi’s interpretation certainly satisfies any craving one may have for both greatness in rosé and in Sangiovese. This wine carries the blush of youth and the bloom of young flowers; aromas of roses, cherries, red plums, red currants and early raspberries. The full acids convey a palate that mimics the bouquet brilliantly; impeccable balance, concentration and structure show the excellence in viticulture as much as the skills of Mr Akiyoshi. Should I wish to use this wine with a meal instead of the laziness of a July afternoon, seafood would be my first choice *(natural) but a close second would be turkey! I usually go with a northern Beaujolais (Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin-a-Vent) for Thanksgiving but a rosé with such structure and elegant power will certainly pair superbly… just don’t forget to baste that turkey with a little butter! #NofatNofun

2013, Lay of the Lay Pinot Noir

Marlborough, New Zealand

Mike Patterson, winemaker

92 points, EXCELLENT Value

… at the risk of sounding melodramatic: THIS. IS. MARLBOROUGH… superbly crafted, this is a Pinot that truly speaks about where it comes from just as much, if not more, then it does about who made it. The textured bouquet is awash in Carneros-like seasalt and briney green olives, yet carries tones of lush green grass, soft savory herbs like parsley and thyme and a background of granitic minerality. Elegance would best describe the balance and structure; a palate conveying mirror-like qualities from the bouquet, medium+ young raspberry acids bursting with the exuberance of youth, medium fine tannin craving just a hint more bottle age before they truly start to come into their own. I would call this textbook if textbooks could have examples of such quality. A joy to consume now, this is best enjoyed 2015-2020+ but will not develop appreciably due to Stelvin enclosure *(pity). FOOD PAIRING is most natural when the wine is used at the start of the meal to take advantage of the dynamic acid… pâté, rillete and the like will find harmony. Feeling casual? Pair this with a classic Roman panini with a thick lathering of pesto and layer of Italian coldcuts and cheeses… once again the acid will bring balance and as Pinot Noir is a light wine, will work perfectly with hints of sunshine and a picnic blanket~!

2012 Columba Syrah

El Dorado, California

by the Jarvis Tomei family

88 points, Decent

… putting to one side that everyone has their own preferences in style and interpretation of any varietal, much less one that has as much diversity as the mighty Syrah/Shiraz; this wine is, at best, table wine. Not poorly made table wine, but table wine still. Though the color is a robustly bruised purple the aromas are simple; bright red berries carrying candied notes much like Beaujolais Nouveau. The palate mimics the nose to its own demise; bright/cheery medium+ raspberry acids carry freshness though no structure and the tannin is a slightly clunky medium+ as well… very basic flavors of the young red berries with an unfortunate tendency towards overoaking. Please understand that the “harshness” of this critique is only due to it being presented in the same line-up as the previous wines which were, unequivocally, World-Class. Should someone offer this to me at Sainsbury for 3 Euros or Safeway for $7.50 I would consider it a fair transaction.

Naked Wines staff USA

So how does this work? As an “Angel” you put $40 a month into your Naked Wines “piggy bank” which you can use whenever you want. You can even withdraw it if you so choose. Cool. That’s the same as a few bottles of table wine so no big deal to most folks. You and I know that we’re going to spend that money on wine anyways – it’s just a matter of how we want to spend it.

I’m thinking of a local winemaker I know; he’s fantastically gifted but just hasn’t been able to crack into the market yet. It’s a struggle for him and, as a father, I understand his woes. He’s a Dad to two great kids – there are bills to pay and those don’t stop just because you’re having a bad day. But he’s an artist as well and won’t compromise on the quality, the finesse, the uniqueness of his wines just to make the wines “easier to understand sell”.

This man, this winemaker, has my unquestioned admiration. If he could work with a company like Naked Wines it would mean the world to him. An automatic audience that connects with what he’s doing and what he wants to do. A chance to quit taking time out of his days for tastings rooms and sales calls and get back to what really matters: being in the vineyard, being in the cellar. Working with the wine.

That is what the Naked Wine “Angels” get to do. They get the opportunity to do something truly valuable with their consumer dollars. And they get wickedly exciting wine as well. Well heck, if that isn’t just what I asked Santa Claus for this Christmas!

Many thanks to Naked Wines for the generous sample bottles: it revealed not only a new business module to me but a hidden layer of winemaking in the world. As always you can find more recipes, free wine reviews and my notes on premium distillates and cigars on:

 Twitter @https://twitter.com/astudentofwine

 Facebook @ www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape

 Pinterest @http://www.pinterest.com/KristofGillese/

  Google+ @https://plus.google.com/114010103418743183883/posts

Underground Cellar $10,000 getaway giveaway

www.Undergroundcellar.com

Yes, that’s right, a $10,000 USD trip for four to Sonoma wine country and they’re giving it away THIS MONTH *(April) to some lucky s.o.b in the States~! You have to get your name in this contest right now because if your neighbor ends up winning – if your boss… if your EX wins this… My friend, you will be supremely disappointed if that happens.

Want to grow your knowledge of wine? See the immense education credentials at Underground Cellar:

https://www.undergroundcellar.com/landing/6/0/ExclusiveWinecation

Because it’s not just about the $10,000 value of the trip! In fact, the money is barely relevant because some of this couldn’t be bought for any amount of money. Imagine sleeping in a Mediterranean-inspired First-Class villa, having a private tour of Iron Horse vineyards and then being personal guests of the critically acclaimed “Girl and the Fig” restaurant. Even money can’t always buy access and my well-heeled friends at Underground Cellar have truly out-done themselves with this stunning “getaway giveaway”.

Iron Horse vineyards ( http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com ), for those who aren’t familiar, has been served in the White House for decades; it has been poured for multiple American presidents, Asian presidents, European royalty, movie stars… truly one of the iconic sparkling wines of the New World. Wine Spectator constantly rates their wines over 90 points and Wine Enthusiast even gave the 2004 Brut vintage 96 points – virtually unheard of for a North American producer. It’s easy to understand why “those-in-the-know” are always putting a half-case or more per vintage of this in their cellars. Who wouldn’t want to walk through this vineyard with the winemaker and then go on a little tasting spree in “le Cav du Vin” *(the wine cellar)??

And what of where you’ll be resting your head at night? The township of Sonoma is the very first recognized Slow City in the United States, and the Terra Nova Sonoma fits perfectly with the sustainability drive behind the slow-food, slow-city movement ( http://terranovasonoma.com ). This inspiring and incredibly private villa was build by local artisans using local quarried rock and local wood. The attention to detail leaves one breathless and the majesty of the Great Room shines making anyone who stays feel like a movie star… speaking of which, Underground Cellar has produced a rather amusing video entertaining this very concept:

http://www.undergroundcellar.com/winecation

Which leaves the food to talk about. Let me “wax poetic” as only an Irishman can:

         Green tomato and bacon tartine…

          Heirloom tomato and watermelon salad with fresh goats feta

         Slow braised pork belly sandwich with soft fried local egg

          Grass-fed beef tartare *(traditional) with pickled caperberries and fresh crostini

Ok. Truth be told I just sounded a lot more French then I did Irish, but who cares? As a chef with 20 years formal experience; having worked in ultra-traditional Marseille *(French) kitchens: This. Is. French. The Girl and The Fig ( www.thegirlandthefig.com ). 

Billed as “Country food with French passion” I am wholeheartedly impressed with not only their devotion to producing beautiful food, but also their uncompromising approach to sustainability. We all understand by now that the Earth is an ecosystem with limits; it is therefor inherent that those within the system respects its limits! Great restaurateurs are perhaps more driven by this then most: for it is the chefs who shape the fruits of the earth, the sommeliers who help us understand the nuances of soil and the restaurateur who must then craft this into a legacy that, in some cases, lasts generations. “The Girl and The Fig”, I have no doubt, will be standing for many years to come with its passion for culinary excellence and its respect for the work in local farms.

And all of this – is free. To one lucky American. Not me – I suffer the misery of being Canadian and will watch with envy as one of you
 walks away flies away with this prize… a round of applause for Underground Cellar for putting this together. I find myself admiring their spirit even more then the fantastic assortment of gems they discover on what seems a daily basis for their esteemed clientele.

So pour another glass of bubbly, follow the link *(https://www.undergroundcellar.com/landing/6/0/ExclusiveWinecation)

and please don’t forget to tell me in intricate detail about it when you come back either here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape

Right-Banks of the world: comparing St Emilion

When I started the #WineTastingCircle of Vancouver, it was with the aim of furthering my wine-education. I wanted the opportunity to taste wines with my colleagues in a private setting of cooperation and discovery... it was my Dad, really, who set me on this path when he told me "Don't save your special bottles of wine for special occasions, use them to create special occasions"

And so in the Summer of 2013 I held my first #WineTastingCircle with a total of 4 attendees. We compared the superlative vintage of 2000 Bordeaux with six different regions represented, with the goal of understanding not only how the vintage affected the areas, but the blends as well, and how well those iconic wines were aging. But in the back of my mind I always knew I wanted to take that concept one step further.

Right-Banks of the World: comparing St Emilion vs other regions making similar styled-blends. A bold idea I was told by colleagues, especially as we would be tasting the wines blind, but an educated palate would be able to decipher California from Bordeaux, Washington from Chile... right?

Well, that what I set out to learn and to make it a proper comparative I needed to make a level playing field.

CRITERIA

Varietals: Merlot, Merlot with Cab Franc, perhaps a hint of Cab-Sauv

Price-point: (BC dollars) $40-$80

Vintage: variable... as its not all from the same area - vintage isn't really a factor

Attendees: 10 sommeliers, wine-judges, journalists, importers and merchants. Total experience about a century in the industry and another century as non-professional wine lovers (wine-geeks in training?)

And of course I had my venue, the inimitable Uva Winebar wine cellar/private room ( http://www.uvawinebar.ca/ ). I must make mention of their genuine hospitality and professionalism, and my personal gratitude for their continued patronage of our quarterly event. Small wonder that the hospitality industry in Vancouver drops in at Uva on a regular basis... industry folks always know the best spots :)

And so you may be forgiven for thinking that at this point I had it all figured out: all the technical minutia of time and place, the wines, the people. What more could there be? My friends, what we really had to overcome - when we got to the room and started pouring the wines wrapped in paper, no hint of what lay beneath... what we had to challenge in those 4 minutes we were given per wine to dissect: to analyze with our eyes, our noses, our taste, was: our own prejudice.

For who could be more prejudiced about wine then wine-lovers, professionals or neophytes? We read the trade-papers, we listen to the experts, the winemakers, the critics. We are the ones who scan for changes in weather patterns. Why? So we better know whether to invest in the vintage or not: is this going to be the big one ? The stellar year that lurks in grand cellars for decades to come and savvy people buy now for a pittance and open decades from now to rounds of applause? Who could have more preconceptions about wine then the very people who are supposed to be immune?

But it's the nature of life: we get a little education and then we get an opinion, and Heaven help us when we get one of those! It was my very first wine-guru, the gifted DJ Kearney who taught that, whilst she was studying for the Master of Wine program (of which we have 3 in Canada) she was, after all, still just learning. A pantheon in the wine-industry who this Spring is a judge at the Argentina Wine Awards told us that she was basically the same as we students of the ISG Level 1. She was learning, growing, developing and hungry for more.

always respected Chateau Pipeau, St Emilion

I knew that I needed to bring that energy to the #WineTastingCircle and, in fact, my colleagues all brought the same fire in their bellies. We had veterans of 25+ years experience and novices only 2 or 3 years into the hallowed halls of professional wine critiquing. It was as wide an array as could be imagined for one table but we were all pulled by the same force which was: To Learn. We fulfilled that role judiciously.

St Emilion is considered by some to be the "heart" of the Right Bank of Bordeaux and has been producing wine for centuries. Soft, plush, fruit-driven Merlot; some with dynamic structure and concentration to last decades and be worthy of their stratospheric price-tags, some juicy little gems intended for fast consumption on lazy afternoons and chic Saturday night parties. Would we be able to tell which two of the ten wines assembled were from reputable, Grande Cru Classe chateau?

THE LIST

2005 Chateau Pipeau, St Emilion Grand Cru Classe  http://www.chateau-pipeau.fr/html/pipeau.html

2005 Jean-Faure, St Emilion Grand Cru Controlee   http://www.jeanfaure.com/

2003 Duckhorn, Napa Valley, California      http://www.duckhorn.com/

2003 Stags Leap, Napa Valley, California    http://www.cask23.com/

2008 Domaine de Chaberton "AC 50", BC, Canada     http://www.domainedechaberton.com/

2007 Painted Rock, Skaha Lake, Okanagan Valley DVA, BC   http://www.paintedrock.ca/

2011 Painted Rock, Skaha Lake, Okanagan Valley DVA, BC

2010 Tinhorn Creek "Oldfield Series", BC, Canada      http://www.tinhorn.com/

2011 Ghost Pines, 62% Sonoma County / 38% Napa Valley    http://www.ghostpines.com/

there was a 10th wine, sadly corked...

LESSON #1   Could we tell the Bordeaux?

utterly brilliant Jean-Faure, St Emilion, 92 points

No. Out of all of the professionals, and all the skilled palates, differing experiences, etc etc not one person could tell which wine came from Bordeaux. But beyond that, some wines were so similar that they could have passed for "twins" or two bottles from the same vintage and same winery thrown into the mix as a test.

2005 Jean-Faure, Grand Cru Classe St Emilion VS 2011 Tinhorn Creek reserve Merlot, Okanagan Valley DVA, BC

In the glass we could see that the Jean-Faure was older, but in all other respects these wines were identical. One member of the panel pointed out the similarities and so we all tried them side-by-side (myself I was inclined to disprove him) and damned it all but he was right! 10 people, 10 votes that the "little" winery from BC had produced a Merlot of such character, such concentration, such finesse that no one could tell it from the Bordeaux. But I knew the difference:

2005 Jean-Faure at auction in California approximately $40+ making it about $100+ in BC. 2010 Tinhorn "Oldfield Series" about $30 at the winery: one-third the price. That was the difference.

an elegant wine; complex, seductive

LESSON#2   Would the California wines be our top-scoring wines?

No. Easy to believe that New World palates would crave that "classic" (to some) California over-ripe fruit, but Parker-esque devotees we were not. Top-score went to a winery that is relatively unknown even in BC - but I need to qualify that. The highest scoring wine of the night was from Domaine de Chaberton which is in our farming belt in the Lower Mainland: Langley. Better known for their excellent value-for-money white wines, the reds from this winery have for the most part fallen off the radar of industry-insiders. I was fortunate enough to be gifted a bottle of this "AC50" which is made by the owner, about 125 cases per year. It is an Ode to everything that is brilliant in St Emilion style blending and reminded  me of Chateau La Gaffelierre, 1er Grand Cru Classe the very first time I tried it. Should you not be familiar with Gaffelierre, it is enough to understand that they have  incredible legacy in France and are owned by nobility.

Asides from the many differences such as vineyard age, pedigree, etc which are all just back-story, the big difference to me is that Chaberton AC50 runs about $50-$60 in BC whilst Gaffelierre runs over $150 if memory serves... once again, triple the price.

LESSON#3   Would the iconic wineries produce the highest scoring wines?

Once again, no. Whilst it's true that some of the more prestigious wineries crafted product that was impressive to all: deep, rich, concentrated wines with superb balance, structure and length on the palate it was in fact a bevvy of new producers who took or tied for first, second and third place.

I have long been a proponent of the notion that when one practices something for a considerable length of time, one gains skills. It's just a fact. The equation has always been explained to me as the "10,000 hour rule": anyone who practices a skill, any skill, for 10,000 hours will become a master at it... baseball, physics, agriculture. All skills follow the "10,000 hour" rule. And we as consumers believe that intrinsically! We cling to businesses with longevity because, instinctively, we believe that their quality of product or service must be superior. In the world of wine, that has long been a Belief.

But we must also be cognizant of the fact that we have entered a New Age of Wine. The entire industry has been turned upside-down in less then 20 years and virtually every rule that was etched in stone has been (successfully) broken. Wine is being produced in regions that no one thought possible, at altitudes considered unproductive, with varietals that had "no place being grown there". Really, when we consider the wine industry as a whole, who would have ever given credence before 1976 to the idea that the French would consider a Napa Valley Chardonnay more classical, more elegant, more "French" then France?

Clare gorging herself at Painted Rock

But that is the lay of the land today. Today it isn't just Bordeaux creating great Bordeaux, and we as educated consumers should be willing ( with due diligence) to open our eyes, our tastebuds and our wallets to the potential of these new ventures. St Emilion has a very special place in my heart and I will always cherish the producers there who have branded quality on their viticulture for centuries. But if there was one message that was hammered home to me time and time again in this tasting it was something my two-year old daughter taught me when last we visited Painted Rock vineyards on the bluffs above Lake Skaha.

It was a beautiful early Fall day; we got to the winery and Clare ran straight for the vineyard. She clambered over rocks and tramped through the rows until she found what she considered to be the perfect spot and then stopped to apply herself to the task of eating as many grapes as possible. It was brilliant! I see now, many months later, that she didn't stop to ask herself where the grapes were from: she tasted, she loved, she continued. We all of us have fallen prey to attractive packaging and weighty lineages, but just like my child (and a blind tasting) showed me:

It's what's inside that counts!

THE SCORES

*scores are my own and not representative of each individual member of the #WineTastingCircle, but do reflect the consensus 

unanimously voted the top wine of the evening

1st place

2008 Domaine de Chaberton "AC50"     93 points

...on the nose offers rich aromas of sous-bois or wild under-growth, tobacco leaf, fresh red currants/raspberries. The palate is awash in well-integrated fine tannin and lean/well-focused medium+ acid... still young in it's life, this wine has years for development and a decade plus in the cellar. Big concentration on the palate with the same musky/sandalwood edge and a kaleidoscope of fresh red berry/sour cherry flavors colored ever so slightly by a hint of young blackberry/huckleberry. Merits serious decanting or two runs through the aerator.

2nd place (TIE)

2007 Painted Rock Merlot                         92+ points

...Big, bold, beautiful! Fully intense aromas pouring from the glass: rich red and dark berries, a whole bouquet of flowers and gentle teasings of black peppercorn at the end... ultra-fresh palate with crisp, clean acid, silky-smooth tannin integrated thoroughly and an overall impression of seamlessness. Drinking brilliantly now, it will continue to evolve for years and will cellar for a decade with ease. Of note: most people at the table thought this to be top-tier California...

2003 Stags Leap Merlot                               92+ points

...beautifully intense and textured nose of warm winter spices, candied almonds, hints of pink peppercorn and dark flowers. Medium+ crisp acids with tons of life left and a generous fruit driven palate with complimentary tones of pencil shavings, sous-bois forest floor and wild herbs. Very well balanced, with good concentration, this Merlot will last for several years still but not develop further.

3rd place (TIE)

2005 Jean-Faure                                            92 points

...a classic: complex marriage between honeyed almond aromas and a bouquet of perfumed red and dark flowers mixing with fresh berries in the garden. Crisp, fresh, tastes like it's a new wine! I was so certain that this was only a few years old, I'm certain that there are years of development and a solid decade plus of cellaring for this exquisite wine. Fine, well-integrated tannin, medium+ concentration of bruised plum/red and black raspberry flavors but not quite as developed as the sublime aromas.

2010 Tinhorn Creek Merlot                      92 points

...so pretty! To my mind, this was what most people think of when they think "Merlot". Bright red berry aromas mixing with soft floral tones, a hint of warm earth and the lightest fresh herb tint. Ultra-crisp red berry acid, incredibly well-integrated tannin structure, the palate is a mirror of the nose (always an indication of quality to me). Great balance, structure and concentration. Beautiful for drinking now and can be held in the cellar for several years.

the slopes above Lake Skaha: brilliant Bordeaux from BC

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape

Wente vineyards Nth Degree Cab-Sauv, Livermore Valley AVA

https://wentevineyards.com

Wente vineyards. The very name is synonymous with the highest caliber of wine-making and the upper echelon of pedigree in the New World. What, then, does one say about their work, their craftsmanship, that has not been said a hundred times or a hundred-hundred times before?

Well. Sometimes we need to repeat ourselves in order for the message to sink in. And so I relieve myself of the burden of trying to find something novel, something unique, to say about this illustrious family which has literally carved itself a permanent fixture in the North American wine culture. And I will continue by repeating what sommeliers more learned then myself have been saying for decades and more:

This is amazing wine.

A trite statement? Methinks not my friends. Sometimes the simplest phrase carries the strongest message. Let me re-iterate:

This is absolutely amazing wine.

The only questions that you should be asking are A) why? and B) how do I get my hands on some? And not necessarily in that order. Let me respond to the easy question first:

B) How do I get my hands on some?? Well when one is talking about a winery that’s been producing for as long a Wente has, the lines of distribution are like a well-tuned orchestra. Lucky you, it seems that Wente is in pretty much every state of the union. Lucky still if you happen to live outside of the USA (as over half of my readers do) as Wente exports to over 70 countries world-wide, negating the need to order directly from the winery. Now as for vintage wines, those are scarce. It seems that “people-in-the-know” are always making room in their wine cellar/storage locker for yet another case or three and laying them down for a spell.

Why’s that? Because as much fun as they are when fresh, these wines have strength, concentration and vigor to last for years… which brings me back to the first question.

A) Why? Why are these wines consistently rated as some of The Best not only in the Livermore Valley, or California, but in all of the USA. *Note that Wine Enthusiast, eminently qualified to say so, voted Wente as the American Winery of the Year- 2011* www.wineenthusiast.com

Why?

You all know that I’m a firm believer that what starts at the top works it’s way to the bottom: great leaders, great troops. And so when I read the history of Wente Vineyards I knew instinctively that I had found both a company and a family that believe the same. Carl Wente came to California in 1883 and immediately found 40 acres of land in the Livermore Valley to call his own. In a time when the calling-card of California was the great Gold Rush, Carl sought fortune in grapes.

I’ve spoken many time of the utter need for we as wine-consumers to consider longevity of production when trying to assess the potential quality and value of wines we haven’t tried before. Look at a label, pull out your Iphone and Google: “how long have these folks been in business?” Whilst not always certain to be a mark of value, more times then not when a family or company has been working at a thing for 50, 60, 200 years – well, they get pretty good at it.

You all know that I’ve declared my admiration and respect for the brave adventurers who forged the California “wine-community” in the 1960′s and 70′s: such iconic names as Schug, Winiarski, Mondavi and Tchelistcheff. I look for great value in California and continually return to those houses who now have 40,50 years or more of working with their land and coming to that Grande Burgundian sense of terroir. So then consider this: when Warren Winiarski created Stags Leap in 1970 the Wente family had already been learning the lay of their land for 90 years.

Five generations of Wentes have poured their sweat, their hearts, their passion into the soil. Results? The Wente family were co-founders of the California Wine Institute. They created the first varietal-labelled wines in the country. Ever. These were the pioneers who set the framework for men like Andre Tchelistcheff to come in 1938 and raise the entire industry to a new level. Were it not for families like the Wentes, perhaps Andre would have stayed in Europe and The Judgement of Paris would have gone very differently.

vineyards @ Wente

Many of us know that Chateau Montelena was voted the best Chardonnay at that infamous blind-tasting, and Stags Leap voted best red. Fewer remember that California actually won (for whites) first place, third place and fourth place. Stunning the world, California had won 3 of the top four spots for Chardonnay.

The clone that almost everyone in California (and now all of the Americas) was (and is) using: Wente clone.

And so as I’m a “Cab-man” when I found this treasure of a wine I couldn’t pass on it. Just as I know that, powerful as they are, these words are frail compared to the wine itself… the proof is in the glass!

2004 Nth Degree Cabernet Sauvignon

Livermore Valley AVA, Alameda County, California

92+/93 points

$75+++ USD (back-vintages are scarce)

indicative blend: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Petite Syrah

*MINIMAL DECANTING REQUIRED*

• an impressive wine; immediately upon opening the bottle aromas pour forth: fine tobacco, dark chocolate, pencil lead, darkening blackberries and raspberries, a warm savory herbaceousness. Truly World-Class bouquet by any standards, and the nose is followed by an equally well structured palate with crisp/vibrant young acid, fine/well-integrated tannin and flavors that will develop for a good 30 seconds and longer. Rich flavors indeed but the palate is perhaps more subtle then the nose, which should not be taken as criticism. Brilliant quality, this would easily sell for $100 more if it came from Margaux or Pauillac.
• a long life left in it still, this wine has years of development and an easy decade further cellaring. Enjoy 2014-2024+

Karl Wente, winemaker

Impressive. The first vintage of the “Nth Degree” stands out as a testament to  dedication and, really, as a testament to its founder. For fifth-generation family winemaker Karl D. Wente, great-great grandson of Carl Wente, has created a new label for the vineyard that declares: excellence is a pursuit that never dies, never grows old. I respect that Wente vineyards was created by a brave man with strong vision for the future and a need to create a legacy for his family. I respect even more the generations that followed and carried that vision to the next level, but I love that all of this comes with a price-tag that even a writer can afford~!

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape