2008 Croteaux Rosé

Though not our first gathering as a group, it was the first official meeting of our newly formed wine and supper club. It started with an event where we were all gathered to help friends pick a sparkling wine for an event. After that, we got together at the same house and ripped through California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizzas, of which I’ve now become a fan. Everyone was asked to bring a wine (or two since our group isn’t very restrained) to go with pizza and we did.

This time, it was an “official” gathering. The theme was set, BBQ. Due to the fact we live rather far from everyone, we co-hosted the first event with good friends of ours that we’ve shared many a great meal and even more great wines with. They tended to the proteins, which included slow-cooker pulled pork, grilled chicken and kick-butt ribs.

In addition, we had some scrumptious side dishes created by my wife, including a four cheese alfredo sauce mac-n-cheese / pasta bake, the best damn cole slaw I’ve ever had and two kinds of cornbread, traditional and the other (my favorite which I just had for lunch as I write this) with green chiles and cheddar cheese. A meal unto itself.

Of course, I brought sparklers. Rose sparklers. I still believe they go really well with pork, though I didn’t get to re-certify the authenticity of my theory at this festivity. We had them before the food was ready, but both were really tasty and for me personally, the highlights of the evening. Granted, I’m bias that way. I didn’t taste all the wines (too many and a few I was already familiar with) and actually missed a photo of everyone’s apparent favorite (I only got to sip it when I put the wines in order…I always get drafted for that duty), but since it was gone by the time I went to taste it, no matter.

[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received both the Croteaux and Graham Beck Rosés as samples]

2008 Croteaux Sparkling Rosé: Croteaux specializes in rosé and after drinking this, I can say they seem to know what they are doing. At least, from a wine making point of view. This wine isn’t available here in GA and retails for $24 on the winery website. Honestly, I’d pay $15 for it, so it is a bit pricey for what it is. Made in the tank method, this soft and juicy wine reminded me of a cocktail made with fresh red berries, a dab of ripe watermelon, with a spritz and twist of sweet orange (I forget the specific variety we’ve gotten from Whole Foods that are so sweet).

The packaging was whimsical and absolutely screamed W-E-D-D-I-N-G. I didn’t hear anyone complain, except that I only had the one bottle and between 16 people, that doesn’t provide for a very generous pour. C’est la vie. If you live in NY, I’d recommend visiting them and trying all their wines. Summer begs for rosé.

Graham Beck Brut Rosé

NV Graham Beck Brut Rosé: So, this isn’t that well known, nor well regarded by the big reviewers. Good. More for us who know and enjoy it, especially at the mid teens price point I was told it should make here in Georgia. I know the wine is available, as I sampled the lineup back in January at the local distributor’s tasting. I’m pretty sure the rep told me it would make a $15.99 retail. I had two different guests ask me about this, as they wanted to buy some for themselves. [UPDATE: After I wrote this, I saw local wine guru Gil Kulers gave this two thumbs way up.]

A firmer, fuller bodied wine than the Croteaux, this presented a profile of tarter red fruits with fine minerality giving it a more solid finish. I found this to the better wine with food, whereas the Croteaux was a great way to begin with its more pillow-like nature. I’m telling you, based on other professional retail buyer opinions and those of friends I’ve shared this with, I really think Graham Beck is one of the top values in sparkling wine.

I have to say, the rest of the wines that were brought was a more interesting mix than I was expecting. We only had 3 Zinfandels, where as I’d told my wife I thought everyone would bring at least one Zin. I went against my usual preferred tastes and gravitated towards the two old world offerings. First up, Spain.

2008 La Cartuja Priorat: I don’t know what the retail was, but based on my searches, this is usually around $15! Okay, read that again. $15 for Priorat. I wonder if this is somebody’s declassified juice sold on the auction market for a fraction of “normal” price. No matter, it was a good wine. A bit tight at first, it did open up in the glass. I highly recommend decanting this and remember folks, serve your reds at around 65 degrees. That is room temperature in Europe…or at least, it was when that rule was first circulated. Ripe red and black fruits, with plenty of warm spice and the signature “hot rocks” note I always seem to find in wines from this region. I would definitely recommend this as a great introduction to the region and the style of wine. Usually you have to look at the surrounding horse shoe shaped region of Monstant for wines of this taste profile, quality and price point.

Two favorite still red wines of the evening...yes, I'm shocked too...

2005 Les Bois du Menestrel Vacqueyras: Another nice value, but again, I don’t know the retail. I think it is probably in the same range as the La Cartuja, mid-teens. A good choice, but this would have gone much better with beef. The smoked tobacco leaf and roasted red cherry character, wrapped around a core of iron, beg for big food. I’d even say wild game or mushroom laden dishes would work well with this. It was another solid choice and give it bonus points for probably being the most esoteric. Nice job Mark.

2005 Wilson Diane’s Reserve Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel: This sucker weighed in at a whopping 16.2% alcohol. Safety tip: no open flames near this one. It should have been decanted and served much cooler, something the generous bringer of this wine lamented not doing. A limited production wine of 200 cases, with an approximate price of $48, this screamed Zinfandel. Black as tar dark fruits, but of the ripest variety, with a healthy dose of fresh cracked black peppercorns. You could definitely taste the alcohol, but it was more in the sweetness than in the heat. A big wine for big food. Throw down with some ribs, plenty of water and a cooler service temperature.

So, those were my three favorites. One other wine, which was the most interesting because it was the most non-typical example of a grape variety wine I’ve ever had, was the 2006 Montoya Petite Sirah from Paso Robles. It was light, almost to the point of if you wondered if the grapes were all under enormous shade trees. This wasn’t PS. It was PS masquerading as I don’t even know what. Maybe a Grenache or warm vintage Oregon Pinot Noir, with a pinch of Syrah thrown in. It was actually not bad, it was just not what a Petite Sirah drinker would want in their glass.

To finish the evening, there was an assortment of Pepperidge Farm chocolate cookies (Genevas are my favorite) and some two bite (really…why do I always eat them in one then?!) brownies. To accompany them, Mark brought a bottle of Casa Sant’Orsola Brachetto d’Acqui. Liquified raspberry juice is how I always find these sweet Italian red sparkling wines. Perfect with the chocolate and a nice way to wrap things up after a very rich, savory and superb meal. My compliments to the chefs! (All I did was some prep work, pour our two bubblies and put the wines in order…that was an easy gig.)

So, there you have it, the birth of Wineaux 75, our social supper and wine club.

View the video below or on YouTube.

Graham Beck Bliss Demi Sec

This wine got me thinking about wine names.

I won’t go into how wines are labeled, since that is a complex and lengthy topic. What I like about this wine’s name how it speaks to they way it makes you feel. Most wines that have a proprietary name do so because they are blends and can’t carry a variety label or they violate the regional labeling laws and are relegated to something simpler than they really are.

Some of the names are obviously what some marketing person thought would be clever and eye-catching. After all, there are a lot of people who will buy the wine because of the name or the label. I can attest to that fact when our #1 selling 750 ml Cabernet Sauvignon was Evil out of Australia. It was solid juice for the money, but a lot of folks did buy it because of the name and label. I’m sure there were some who might not have bought it for the same reason, but hey, it still sold really well, so they were obviously in the minority.

Back to the wine.

For me, the Bliss is well named because it does bring on a certain sense of bliss, especially when you pair it with spicy cuisine. Our protein of choice was spicy corn meal battered shrimp. In addition, we also had some spicy remoulade and thai chili dipping sauces. The shrimp were poppin’ sweat beads on foreheads, but the wine was able to wrestle them into submission with the balance of sweetness. Now that I think of it, Submission would also make a good wine name.

After opening, you’ll notice a succulent aromas of apricot nectar glazed pineapple that had been drizzled with honey. Normally a wine of this degree of sweet would not be my cup of tea, which is ironic since I love late-harvest dessert wines. The saving grace is the acidity, which keeps the sugar in balance, like Philippe Petit crossing between the Twin Towers. The flavors pretty much mimic the aromas, with the pineapple cast in the lead role.

This was what I’d call a breaker wine, so good you want to break the bottle and lick the juice off the inside so as not to miss a drop. Of course, that wouldn’t be real safe, so better just to go ahead and buy two bottles when you pick this up. It is available in the Atlanta market and you can ask your local store to contact Empire Distributors to source it. Retail should be $15.99.

I found the range of professional reviews to be interesting, ranging from a lowly 78 to an almost outstanding 89 (the kiss of death for a retailer score). If you like White Star from Moet & Chandon, you should be all over this wine. Just make sure to drink it the way we do, with one-third to half full flute pours so as to keep it cool. As the wine warms, the sugar will find its voice and become a bit too pronounced for my tastes. I also recommend pairing it with spicier dishes. Without that balance of heat, it is still a great wine, but perhaps not quite as outstanding. That will just depend on your tolerance for sweetness, which I’ve found is higher for most folks than they will ever admit publicly.

Haiku
Pineapple honey
Tickles the nose and taste buds
Bliss hits the bullseye

FULL DISCLOSURE: I received this wine as a sample.

2007 Graham Beck Brut Rosé

Graham Beck. Add them to your radar.

While I was impressed with the brief tastings I had last week, I was even more pleased with what I found in drinking an entire bottle. I decided to try this one, as it was the only sample I’d received that wasn’t present at Empire’s trade tasting.

I also wanted a rosé to have with our pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, which turned out to be a huge hit with the whole family. It was really quite easy, thanks to Whole Foods and Bulls Eye Guinness BBQ sauce. While I know that Zinfandel makes a more “classic” pairing with BBQ, I find that sparkling rosés work quite well, especially if you prefer your sauce on the sweeter side. The acid helps cut the sweetness and the red fruit flavors make a nice compliment for my personal tastes.

This wine retails for around $15.99 and is available in the Atlanta market. Ask your local wine shop if they carry it and if not, ask them to special order it from Empire. Oh yes, FULL DISCLOSURE: I received this wine as a free sample.

One of the most curious things about this particular rosé is how they get the color. They actually press the Chardonnay (20%) and the Pinot Noir (80%) together. The pressing generates enough pressure to extract the pale farm-raised salmon pink (wild caught is much darker) color. According to the importer, the winemaker Pieter “Bubbles” Ferreira refers to it as silver pink, which we could see when we poured it into the flutes.

All the fruits are handpicked and the wine is fermented in bottle for an additional 16 months, which is a month longer than the minimum for NV wines in Champagne. The additional aging provides a richness that balanced on the other end of the see-saw by the tangy acidity of the grapes.

The aromas and flavors are as delicate as the color, so don’t expect a California bowl of strawberries-n-cream in this wine. I detected tart red fruits like sour cherries and cranberry, with a white mineral crisp finish. Beyond the BBQ sandwiches, I can easily see this going with sushi, which always works really well with petillant rosés. An above average value that should be on your radar for

Haiku
Pieter makes bubbly
Tart red berries and white shell
Surprising value

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you are enjoying your Wednesday…or whatever day you might be reading this. If you like what I’m doing, please tell your friends, follow me on Twitter, become a Facebook Fan, leave comments or email me questions / suggestions.

Cheers,
Kevin