Tantalizingly Close to Beauty

"welsh stewart" sonoma county zinfandel 2003

On the nose it's powerful. Significant alcohol with aromas of dark fruit jam(cherry, plum, cranberry sauce). The winemaker said it lacks prune flavors, but I definitely tasted prune (and liked it). Along with some clove.

The palate was strong- socked me in my grill. Alcohol and tannins grabbing a hold of my tongue. I felt like i was wrestling this wine a bit. I love wine wrestling. More cranberry- Slightly sour, slightly peppery. Only disappointment is that the finish of the wine had a mild sweet-syrupy finish. I think that some others might appreciate that. I didn't and I thought it marred an otherwise wonderful experience.

We paired this wine with roast pork from the chinese restaurant around the corner. I thought it would work the way a good Zin-n-ribs combo does. It didn't. I think the sweetness of the zin and the sweetness of the pork failed to achieve a balance. It made the Zin seem even more syrupy- a sad combination. I would look for a hot zin with no sweetness for my next bbq pork meal- or a pork without sweet in the sauce.

cork and demons interview with the winemaker:

Everything I Know about wine, I Learned in Kindergarten

Today’s lesson: the sun helps plants grow. A lot of sun helps plants grow a lot. Grapevines are plants.

This was the ‘duh’ moment I had on Saturday night that will change how I taste and search for many red wines.

I was waiting for a prescription to be filled, and wandered into a Castro street wine shop called Swirl, hoping that they carried the Silver Pinot Noir that I tried at Hotel Biron. They didn’t have it. They do have a charming little neighborhood wine bar staffed by bartender named Timmyloo. Timmyloo is a sturdy built lad with an apple pie face and a shock of brilliant red hair. He pours a generous flight and is eager to share his passion for wine without a hint of attitude. There were about eight folks sipping in the back corner bar, the compressed space facilitating easy cross talking between customers. I chatted with one woman about politics. I overheard Timmyloo talking to a woman about his drag punk rock band. At least I think that’s what he said… I didn’t concentrate too much because such conversations are fairly common in this city, and because I was distracted by the tempranillo I was tasting.

I haven’t tried a whole lot of Spanish wines, but I’ve found most of them to be too lean and subtle for me. But not this wine. I was tasting the Tempranillo Graciano Vicuana Bodegas Bilbainas from Rioja Spain 2003 (seriously, are all those names necessary?). This wine wasn’t lean or subtle at all! This wine had powerful fruit flavors with earth, coffee and spice. It was strong. It was gorgeous. It was both fascinating and powerful on the tongue. Timmyloo informed me that the crazy hot 2003 summer in Europe (remember those folks dying from the heat in France?) had the effect of quickly ripening the grape crop. Wines that are usually subtle took on much more intense flavors in the 2003 vintage. Timmyloo told me that he recommends 2003 wines as a great introduction to folks like me who are biased toward the meaty California wines.

While we were on the subject of heat, he informed me that Santa Barbara pinot noirs are often more intense because of the hotter weather. More heat makes grapes ripen more. This explained why I was so fond of the powerful Silver Pinot Noir I tasted at Hotel Biron. It had more kick because of the prolonged sun exposure.

Now I'm a little confused about this. Other experts say that Pinot Noir should be raised only in cool areas, as the flavor of the grape comes not from the sun, but from the time the grape stays on the vine. Too much sun means quick ripening and less vine time. I'll have to do more research on this both in reading and in tasting.

In any case, something is going on for me with these Santa Barbara pinot noirs. Timmyloo introduced me to the second Pinot Noir I have really liked, the Santa Barbara Brophy Pinot Noir (2004). I found it fruity and forceful (good forceful... like velvet bondage, hickeys or bite marks on the lower back). The prominent tastes were of cherry and earth. It was creamy on the tongue with a subtle but lingering finish. I would definitely buy this!

And I will definitely be visiting Timmyloo often.

Boredom from Stags Leap? Damn.

Chris and I are watching LOST on dvd on a Sat. night. To kick the evening up a notch (Saturday should have a little more verve than Tuesday or Wednesday, right?) I open a bottle of special wine.

At least I thought it would be special. I was allured by the the "Stags Leap" label on the Cameron Hughes Lot 16 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District. I love wines from the Stags Leap area of Napa, and I really wanted to love this one.

I don't.

At first taste, I thought this wine was overly tannic but that was just my impatience; I hadn't given it ample time to breathe. 15 minutes later, I was LONGING for tannins. At least something interesting would've been happening in my mouth. This wine was a sleeper. It had promise with beautiful ruby color and and strong aroma of blueberry, mashed cherry and light vanilla. There was something merlot-like in the scent, enough to make me double check the label.

But color and aroma are only foreplay. Like a really hot guy who just lays there in bed, this wine didn't put out where it matters. Chris says its very "one-note". I got a little bit of cherry and berry but not much else. It's slightly chalky with a sweet but chemical aftertaste like nutrasweet. This wine would benefit from aging but I'm not sure I'd waste the storage space. Alder at Vinography gives this wine a 7.5/8 out of 10. I usually respect Alder's opinion, but I think he's being overly generous with a negociant that he admires.

Pinot Surprise

Last weekend I had drinks at Hotel Biron to celebrate Makana’s birthday. Hotel Biron is a small wine bar just off Market street. It’s cute, quaint and has wonderful couches that my tired ass just sunk right into. Intriguingly, it smells like an underground wine cellar inside. To a wino like me, that scent makes me almost horny. I managed to check my libido and act in semi-socially appropriate ways so that we could all focus on the birthday boy. Makana is a neophyte enthusiast. He discovered the joys of wine this year and has submerged himself in experiencing and educating himself about wine. It’s adorable. He’s falling in love with wine for the first time, and I’m enjoying experiencing first love through his eyes (and nose and palate).

The one flaw of Hotel Biron is that they don’t offer flights, and I love flights for the opportunity to taste several wines before committing to a glass. However, they pour a taste of any wine-by-the-glass that you want to try, so we had the opportunity to sample many options. The bartendress was knowledgeable, cute and sassy. I wish we had taken pics that night.

We tasted a few wines but unfortunately, I lost my frickin’ notes, so I can’t remember everything. I do remember that Joe tasted a Rioja that had a very clear and powerful aroma of Kikkoman Shoyu! Strange, but honestly not unpleasant.

Surprisingly, the best wine of the evening was a pinot noir. Despite the current popularity of pinot, I haven’t become a convert. I appreciate its subtlety and it’s ability to pair with so many foods including many dishes that usually pair with whites (e.g. fish, cream sauces). But my taste runs toward big reds. I like to get bitch slapped by my wines. I like tannic zins and cabs that are spicy, fruit forward and textured. I was surprised to find all of these qualities in the 2004 Silver pinot noir from Santa Barbara. It was beautifully purple, much darker than most pinot noirs. The aroma was plumy with subtle herbs (light tarragon? thyme? a little grassy?) and then a subtle smell of sea salt. The salt was surprising and pleasant. The plum flavor continued on the tongue. The wine had a very pleasant milky consistency. Makana noted a little ‘heat’ on the front of the tongue, but I didn’t get that. The finish was lasting and complex. A week ago I had a duck confit at Chow and I craved that duck again to pair with this pinot noir.

Happy Birthday Makana! I look forward to many more birthdays, glasses and bottles with you!