Vazart Coquart Brut Reserve

ICSWI was an amazing event, something I’ve written more than a few times before. One of the downsides to such large events, is you don’t get to taste every wine as you’d like. You get to talking to the growers / owners / wine makers, you take a few deep breaths, you compare notes with other guests and before you know it, you are almost out of time and you still have so many Champagnes you have missed. This was not one we missed, but it was one we didn’t get to devote as much time too, as by the time we got to it, it was day two and we were half way done. Drinking the bottle and sharing it with friends was a much finer way to enjoy this bottle.

The wine I’m talking about is Vazart-Coquart Brut Reserve. I bought this at Tower Piedmont and paid either $44.99 or $49.99. I’m not sure which since I lost the receipt. This bubbly is a Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, something much more common with farmer made Champagnes than the big houses, another reason to seek these wines out. The family farms 26.5 acres, planted to 95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir, with an average vine age slightly over 30 years.

This exhibits what I call a precise character, with a fine focus of flavor that really shows off what Chardonnay is capable of in the Champagne region. One of the best metaphors I can come up with is a “heavy fastball”. What I mean by that is that it has a concentration of flavor that is mouth filling, but not really heavy. The toast wasn’t over done, with the fruit really shining in this wine. Flavors I got were pear with a crust of toasted nuts and topped with a mist of bright orange citrus flavors, with pear being the dominant player.

This wine was paired with a blue crab dip that was really quite tasty, not at all overly seasoned or mixed in with heavy cream cheese like some seafood spreads I’ve had (and enjoyed!). We also tried it with some kettle corn (from a bag…which was good, but nothing compared to fresh…oh Stone Mountain, how I miss thee). That wasn’t such a hit, as the sweet really punched a hole in the heart of the wine. I’ll stick with butter and salt for pairing with Champagne, but even that wouldn’t have worked as well with this style. Seafood is the ticket for those who really want to max out the pleasure of this wine. Outstanding and easily worth the price of admission. Not the last time I’ll enjoy this producer and hopefully, I’ll be able to find some of their Special Club next time.

Oh yes, one other bit of trivia before I get onto the Chianti. Vazart Coquart makes a Champagne just for foie gras. I don’t know of any other wine on the entire planet devoted to just one food. I don’t even really care for foie gras, but I’d be willing to try again if I could get a hold of this wine. Unfortunately, that will probably not happen until I can actually physically get myself there, as they only make 1,000 bottles or so of this sec (between extra dry and demi-sec on the sweetness scale).

Haiku
A Chardonnay treat
Laser focus racy pear
Touch with citrus mist

Others think:

• Eat, Drink, Stagger (look for mention of it in the 1st paragraph after the 1st photo)
• Dirty South Wine
• Grape Observer (slightly more than 1/4 down the page)
• Brooklyn Guy Loves Wine

To kick things off...

Saturday night was a cause for celebration.

Okay, more like a post-event celebration, since the actual event we were celebrating had happened earlier in the week. A close friend of ours was celebrating her birthday and our present was to provide dinner, along with the wine. Nothing fancy, just a simple feast of grilled rib-eyes, bacon wrapped scallops, roasted potatoes and mushrooms with cheese (I forget what kind…but it was good…and that is all that ever matters). Oh yeah, there was also a Whole Foods bakery Tiramisù cake.

The kick off wine was, but of course, a Champagne. The funny thing was, it was actually one I purchased myself. You see, grower Champagnes are pretty much impossible for a guy like me to get samples on. At least, that has been my experience so far.

It was a 2003 René Geoffroy Empreinte, a wine that I purchased at Tower on Piedmont for $49.99. 2003 was generally a bad year in Champagne, with a crop demolishing frost in spring and scorching temperatures in summer that sent the wines into sugar shock, leeching life preserving acidity from the picture. Okay, that is an oversimplification, but overall, it wasn’t a good year for most Champagne producers. All of us found this wine in tip top shape, with a soft and round palate being the one clue to the year. It wasn’t overly soft, just enough to make it a very nice apéritif to go with cheese and crackers. Flavors were lightly honey misted apples with a slight toastiness. Overall, an above average Champagne.

Next up came the first red and for me, the WOTN (wine of the night). It was a bottle of 2004 Concha y Toro Terrunyo Carménère that I’ve had for a few years. I don’t remember how long I’ve had it, but it has probably been around 2 years. I think the retail was around $35, though it sells for closer to $40 in the current release.

This is a premier example of the Carménère grape variety, with a fantastic interplay of green pepper, herbs, tobacco and rich black fruits. A strong presence of green bell pepper is something I find off-putting in this variety, but I also find its absence displeasurable as well. The wine had soft, almost imperceptable tannins and enough acid to keep it from feeling flat. I’d say the wine is prime to drink right now, though I’m sure it will stay quite tasty for at least a few more years. My only regret with this wine is not having more of it to drink. Check out the video and see how much sediment this puppy throws when you get to the “dregs”. Outstanding wine and one that never disappoints in any vintage I’ve ever sampled.

For dinner, we went the 2003 Seavey Caravina Cabernet Sauvignon. Another bottle I’ve had for a few years and I wanted to drink. I tend to go for Napa wines in their youth, preferring their luscious fruit, but not wanting to wrestle with overbearing tannins. From what I remembered, this was one of my sensei’s great value gems from Napa. A second label wine that was as good as the “big” wine, but at a more budget friendly price. I don’t remember what the wine went for, but I’m pretty sure it was in the $30s when I did buy it. I’m not sure what it retails for (I haven’t seen it at all anywhere lately) now, but the winery sells it for $55.

Plush, with black currant, grilled herbs, a touch of gravel and a dusting of cocoa powder in the long finish. This wine runs between worlds, with obvious oak and fruit laying claim to the New World, but with the finesse of a Bordeaux. California fans will still favor this, as I think most Bordeaux fans just don’t like this much fruit, which while present, isn’t overwhelming or jammy in nature. Time has and will continue to be kind to this wine. Another mark in the outstanding column, though I still found it just a smidge behind the Concha y Toro.

To conclude the meal, our guests opened up a bottle of 2004 Alvear Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles de añada, an intensely flavored dessert style sherry. Again, not my usual sort of wine to have with the finish of a meal, as the alcohol is something that just pervades the nose and keeps things a bit out of balance for me. This wine belongs on pancakes. For me, it was like drinking raisin and fig reduction, cooked down to the consistency of motor oil. The alcohol was overwhelming and throws the wine out of balance. One might try it with ice cream to cut the burn. Overall, it was good, but not a wine I’d personally seek out. I’ll stick to my late harvest styles thank you.

So, there concludes our intercontinental wine adventure. Four wines, four countries, three continents and overall, quite a worthy excursion. Cheers!

The growers...the artists

As ICSWI 2010 came to a bittersweet conclusion, an impromptu gathering occurred. Okay, perhaps it had been orchestrated by someone, but I didn’t see who. I just took the opportunity to take a picture. I wanted to capture the essence of the two days, giving myself and you, my dear readers, a glimpse behind the bottle.

He was referring to me

The people you see here are artists or as someone referred to them, rock stars. That particular phrase was used by Brad Baker (aka Champagne Warrior) in a Tweet of his. I’m here to confess my brothers and sisters, he was referencing me. I was the one who brought my copy of The Finest Wines of Champagne: A Guide to the Best Cuvées, Houses, and Growers (Amazon affiliate link) and was seeking autographs. Hey, to me, the growers of grapes to produce wine everywhere ARE rock stars.

The bittersweet ending was thus because it was over. I wasn’t going to get to sample any more fantastic Champagne (and sparkling wines). I wasn’t going to get to talk to the producers. It made me regret never having learned French, as the language barrier was one that made communicating more difficult than not. That was one of the best things about the event being lightly attended, the fact you could actually spend time talking to these artisans about their craft. Their passion and dedication shown through, even if half the time we couldn’t speak one another’s language. We still shared the passion for that which is Champagne.

Laetitia Billiot / Rodolphe Peters / Caroline Milan

Here we have my three favorite overall producers at the show. My sincere apologies to Caroline for catching her with her eyes closed, but I did show the photo to her and she was okay with it. I think she was so tired, she just wanted to get back to her hotel. Keep in mind folks, these people had all flown nearly 5,000 miles to be here and they were stuck in the USA until the ash from the Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl) volcano in Iceland. They also happened to be 3 of the 4 autographs I was able to acquire. Below you will find my favorite from each producer, though I honestly recommend trying any of their wines that you might happen upon. Fine stuff from all three indeed.

Henri Billiot

5 different wines and only 3,750 total cases produced annually. Of that, a miniscule 350 cases come to the USA. If you EVER spot a bottle, no matter which one it is, do yourself a huge favor and pick it up. You will not be disappointed.

NV Henri Billiot Cuvée Laetitia: A solera styled wine, this wine is a constant running blend of the previous 20 years. Henri created it for his daughter Laetitia and she now makes the wine for herself. Beyond the fact it was essentially a solera and the majority variety being Chardonnay, she really wouldn’t tell us much more. From what I read, Henri plays things close to the vest and like any good magician, doesn’t reveal his secrets. I do know that they don’t use any malolactic fermentation in any of the wines, nor are any of them filtered.This is also (thought not labeled) a zero dosage wine, which means no sugar was added after disgorgement. A testament to the quality and ripeness of fruit they are able to achieve, plus the blending skills of Henri and Laetitia.

For me, this was the standout of the show. It has this spiced honey blended with graphite character that I’ve never tasted before and a finish, well a finish that could give the Energizer bunny a run for his money. Wines like this are the reason I both love and hate large scale tastings. One, I didn’t have time to really sit and converse with this wine. It was like reading the CliffsNotes to Atlas Shrugged or War & Peace, I got the broad strokes but not the intimate details. The good thing was, I was privileged to taste it. The bad, it was brief and possibly the last time I’ll ever taste it due to scarcity. C’est la vie. Check out another, more extensive review here.

Pierre Peters

While Pierre wasn’t there, his son Rodolphe was. Akeeyaa, the Champagne buyer wonder woman for Spec’s in Houston I mentioned in my previous post, was fanatical about his wines. It didn’t help that Rodolphe is obviously (even to me) a charming Frenchman. Good thing he’s a pretty good wine maker as well, assuming the duties from his fater Francois. This family owns a property in Le Chétillons, a piece of land that Michael Edwards loving refers to as “one of the finest bits of earth in Champagne”. The 2000 vintage from this property was my favorite wine, one which I enjoyed during the luncheon we “crashed” on day one of the event.

2000 Pierre Péters Les Chétillons: A wine from a lesser vintage, this broad shouldered linebacker combined power and tenacity, offering up smoky citrus and chalk with a long finish that rode into the sunset long enough to make you blink. A marvel to behold now, but this deserves more time to really show off its stuff.

Jean Milan

While Caroline isn’t the actual wine maker, she does represent the winery and make no mistake, she knows her stuff. This is a house focused on Chardonnay, crafting 8 different wines that are all Grand Cru, all Chardonnay. Again, experts consider their holdings to be of the highest quality in all of Champagne. They are registered as a NM (Négociant-Manipulant), but the vast majority of their wines are still estate grown. See, one can’t always judge a book by its cover.

NV Jean Milan Tendresse Sec: First, let me say this was my personal favorite for more than just taste. I will say, there were no weak options in the entire lineup and again, I’d recommend any of the Jean Milan Champagnes to anyone. See, when I first got into wine, Champagne was muse. I even went so far as to roam the city of Atlanta looking for some of the most obscure Champagnes I could find (and afford) and this was one I found. It was a curiosity because it was a sec, a level of sweetness rarely produced. It lies between extra-dry and demi-sec, containing a dosage of 20g/l. It is also Grand Cru and Blanc de Blancs. I wonder if there is any equivalently labeled wine in all Champagne?

So, this was the wine my wife and I first brought to our first Open That Bottle Night. I still have the bottle and have fond memories of sharing the wine, so I got a real kick out of meeting someone from the family and tasting the wine again. Yes, it is sweet, but not syrupy or overly so. It provides a softer texture to the luscious stone fruit flavors and is just so yummy, I was craving some pad thai to pair this with. See, context matters. Hmm…there is an idea brewing in that statement. So, while others may poo poo my choice, I’ll stick with it and recommend this wine above all the others just because I know it should be available here in GA and, I’ve always found that in blind tastings, the slightly sweeter Champagnes generally are the most popular.

Well, that concludes this entry. Once again, I really recommend your next bottle of bubbly be a grower Champagne. As your local purveyor what their favorite is and try it out. It is an experience every wine geek should embrace.

Cheers and happy weekend to you! May life bring you smiles and if not, open a bottle of bubbly until it does.

This way to heaven?

April 16th and 17th shall go down in history as the two days when possibly the greatest single wine tasting ever occurred.

Bold statement? No doubt, but one I’d argue with anyone.

Perhaps those who attend Bordeaux En Primeur tastings would argue their annual smorgasbord is finer, but I’d say those wines are much too young to be consumed at that point. So perhaps the Independent Champagne and Sparkling Wine Invitational (ICSWI for short) is the single greatest gathering of drinking-great-now (and into the future) wines.

My lovely wife and I were fortunate enough to have been in attendance courtesy of Corkd. A big thanks to them. Without this event, I don’t see how I’d ever achieve my goal of tasting through 365+ sparkling wines in a year. I’m 112 closer, though you won’t see official notes on all of them. I do have photos and you can view more of them next week.

The event started slow and while I have many constructive criticisms for the organizers, I’m sure they learned many valuable lessons and will make the 2011 version a must attend event for Champagne geeks and wine lovers alike.

We started off in trying to figure out where the morning seminars for the public were being held. In that wait we met up with three great companions. Ben is a local writer with his own fledgling website. Ben has written articles for major publications in the past, including Wine Spectator. We also met up with Ross and Akeeyaa from Specs in Houston. Ross is the South American buyer and Akeeyaa is the Champagne / sparkling wine buyer. I’d say that ranks up there in my top 5 dream jobs (the others include Videogame Designer / Screenwriter / Social Media & Marketing Maven for the Champagne Bureau / Food & wine writer).

Flight 3 of Sparkling wines of the world seminar

When the seminars finally started, we chose the Sparkling Wines of the World, as the other was strictly Champagne. I already know the basics and figured we’d do that one the next day. Well, nobody but us and maybe a couple others came into the room, so the organizers said they weren’t going to do the formal event that day & would hold it the next day. At this point, we were chest deep in conversation with Texas native Rollin Soles, winemaker for Argyle. We opted to stay and just drink the wines which had already been opened.

I have to say, the 2007 Argyle Brut Rosé was quite phenomenal. It was loaded with raspberry and rose petals framed in a voluptuous body. This was a Marilyn Monroe wine. Pricey at around $45-50 and not easy to find, but quite delicious.

After a while, the organizers actually carted off the wine before we could finish getting through all of them, so off to the winemaker luncheon we went. No, we didn’t crash it.

Leftovers from the luncheon...yes, there are un-opened bottles just sitting there...the shame

Okay, maybe we sorta did, but we were invited by one of the speakers. He said there was plenty of food and he was right, the trays were loaded with boxed lunches comprised of sandwiches, chips, fruit, brownies and a cookie. Gotta love a two dessert lunch. Better yet, there were dozens of bottles from the Champagne tasting.

We were helping ourselves and at one serendipitous moment, I had just popped a bottle of Camille Savès Carte Blanche Premier Cru Brut when the wine maker (or maybe the owner? or both? I’m not really sure since he didn’t speak English) walked up and pointed out it was his wine. So, I happily poured some for he and about 4 other folks who randomly walked up to me.

When it was my turn, I got to taste this delicious wine which I’d say was reminiscent of Muhammad Ali, a harmonious blend of power and finesse. I’m typically a fan of non-malo white wines, but you don’t find a lot of Champagne producers willing to skip this process due to the naturally existing high acidity of the wines. Making non-malo Champagne can sometimes create a tooth-enamel-stripping wine with little redeeming value outside of downing with raw bi-valves. This wine had plenty of acid, but with an accompaniment of rich white stone fruits that had been singed over an open fire.

After about 8 or so more Champagnes, it was time to head downstairs. The cavernous ballroom was rather empty, as there were few guests and several tables had been left unmanned due to canceled flights resulting from the volcano in Iceland. We started down the left hand side, which was stocked with the non-Champagne sparkling wine selections.

Tune in next week for more notes, including meeting an Iron Chef runner up, getting geeky and of course, highlights from the greatest wine tasting event these taste buds shall ever attend. 112 sparkling wines down, which brings my total for the year to 199. Granted, many of the 112 from ICSWI won’t have formal notes, but hey, I was there to have fun! I promise to highlight my favorites and hope you’ll tune in next week.

Before I sign off, I wanted to post links to a couple of other write ups on the event.

Vindulge – Mary was the grand prize winner.

NolaDefender – local writer Ben who was one of our drinking posse.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Happy weekend!

OTBN = Open That Bottle Night. A tradition born in 2000, calling oenophiles from far and wide to gather with their brethren and open special occasion bottles of wine that just never found their name called to the podium. Sort of like Susan Lucci, though she too eventually found acceptance and recognition.

The annual event, which is supposed to happen the last Saturday of every February, was started by the former authors of the Wall Street Journal Tastings column, Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher. While the husband and wife team may no longer write that column, their “offspring” will last for what I’m sure is a very long time. The traditional modus operandi is to open a bottle with a story, be it something from your wedding, honeymoon, a special vacation or whatever the tale may be. I’ve only been participating for three years and see it evolving into something much less rigorous in requirement. It is just another  reason to gather and share wines with fellow teeth stainers and come on, do wine drinkers really need much of a reason to get together and open a few bottles?

Yes, there are some personal connections to the wines which people bring to share, but they don’t always have a story. It could just be a really great bottle that you want to contribute to the greater good, or maybe even something you bought for no particular reason and just forgot about. I’ve even seen a few trophy wines make an appearance. No matter, so long as the wine is good, I think the concept is a great one. Honestly, I think it should break the bonds of being chained to the last Saturday of every February and become a more regular occurrence, though then the luster of the title would begin to fade. After all, plenty of people gather on a regular and irregular basis to share wines, just in much less formal circumstances.

Hinton’s wine store hosts an annual OTBN at their tasting room, which they charge nothing for, while still providing a reception wine and tasty food to munch on. It is probably the most sought after event every year, as they only allow 30 guests, which is full capacity without becoming overly crowded. A big thanks to Chris for hosting the annual event, along with a big thanks to Ray and Wally, the husband & wife team who take care of the tasting patrons every week.

As you might guess, my lovely wife and her better other half (that would be me), brought a bottle of Champagne. It is the grower Champagne Jean Pierre Lalouelle, a small producer that we first tasted two years ago at the Tour de Champagne. My wife will tell you it was the wine, while I will say it had just as much to do with the fact the owner (or maybe he was the importer) of the property was there and he was, well, very French. He spoke with the accent, kissed the back of her hand, the whole bit. I will agree it is quite a unique and delicious bottle of Champagne, but if the gender roles were reversed, I’m not so sure we’d be drinking it.

We had actually sought out the wine ever since we first sampled it some two years ago, with no luck until we ran across the distributor at last year’s Aqua Vino event. We were informed it could be bought at The Wine Shoe.

Not long after unearthing this piece of intel, we made the call and by Joe, they had some in stock. We had them put a bottle aside and made the trek to the shop, where we met Nora, her husband Shannon and their dog Barron. They have a nice selection, with a great space you can rent out for your next soirée. If you live near there, give them a call and check out their selection and if nothing else, pick up a bottle of this Champagne for around $45.

Champagne Jean Pierre Lalouelle

NV Champagne Jean Pierre Lalouelle $45: A blend of 70% Pinot Meunier and 30% Chardonnay, this is for those of you who like who would like to explore a fruitier style of Champagne. Aromatics of white flowers and citrus lead to a taste profile that is a bit of fruit salad, with some almond, a wee bit of chalk and juicy citrus fruits. It was much fruitier than your typical Champagne, though not as much so as your standard bottling from California. We had several compliments from fellow guests and it was early, so I know they weren’t too hammered…yet.

You don’t see many blends where the majority is Pinot Meunier, which is actually listed as Pinot Miller on the back label. According to what I could find, Meunier means miller. The things you learn in a quest to drink 365+ sparkling wines in a year.

Pinot Meunier is a grape ignored or used sparingly by many houses, as it is (or once was) thought of as not contributing enough to the durability of the wine, something fairly important in Champagne. I think there is a definite market for wines of this style, especially in this country, where fruit forward is generally the preferred taste profile.

You will also note this is farmer fizz or grower Champagne, a category that I’m just now getting to explore. While I’d love to attend ICSWI and really inundate myself, I don’t know if it is in the cards or not.

One myth to dispel is their cost, which is not necessarily any higher than other Champagnes. As I indicated, this (and others I’ve bought) are priced in the mid $40s and while that isn’t a small price to pay, it isn’t outrageous either. I encourage anyone who is looking to branch out to seek wines like this (look for the little RM on the perimeter of the front label and if can’t find it, ask the local wine shop buyer for their grower Champagne selections) and compare them against their current favorite. You may just surprise yourself.

Champagne Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle

NV Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle: I don’t know the retail on this, as I wasn’t the one who bought it and I didn’t ask what they paid or when they had purchased it. I will say that the most recent reviews list it as going for around $200, so I think this wine won for most expensive of the night.

It was really quite delicious and I say to you who brought it, many thanks for sharing such a grand bottle of bubbly. I wish I’d been able to try more. Imagine a ginger bread house on a foundation of pink grapefruit, with a graham cracker tiled roof framed on honey dipped brioche. That was what this wine tasted like and while there were many great reds this evening, of which I tasted half, this was easily the WOTN for me. Bravo!

1998 Heidsieck Monopole Diamant Brut Rosé

1988 Hiedsieck Monopole Champagne Diamant Brut Rosé: Once again, I don’t know how much this cost or when it was purchased. The review price was $70 and that was 8 years ago.

This was easily the oldest rosé I’ve ever tasted and equaled the oldest Champagne I’ve tasted, though I guess this now wins because the other 1988 was sampled in 2009.

The color was a bright orange, indicating a well aged wine that should be consumed now and not later, just in case you happen to have one laying about. I’m not one who thinks of rosé Champagne as being built for the long haul and while a few people commented on some theories about the wine, I felt they were incorrect.

I imagine the wine had experienced some oxidation and was beginning to fade, but it wasn’t bad or corked. For me, it was a mix of orange blossom honey and a botrytis-like character which reminds me of jasmine tea. Aged Champagne is definitely a unique taste and as I said, I think the wine is fading and shouldn’t be held onto any longer, but it wasn’t bad and I did enjoy it, though as much for academic reasons as pleasurable ones. Thanks to the folks who brought this wine.

There were a total of 30 guests this evening and there were more couples than singles, so less than 30 wines showed up. A few people did bring second bottles, as you never want to show up to one of these and have your only bottle be corked. At least two of those also got poured, though I’m not sure where the final total of wines came out at. Here are some quick notes on the wines I did taste above and beyond the 3 Champagnes.

1997 “I don’t know the name” Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva: This took a bit of time to open up, but once it did there was a nice cocoa dusted red berry fruit flavor with enough acid to require food, but soft enough at this point in its evolution to drink well all by itself. I have to say, I’ve never had a Vino Nobile of this age and I was impressed, especially considering these wines are often moderately priced compared to their sangiovese based brethren of Chianti Classico and Brunello.

2005 Stags’ Leap Petite Syrah: The white label one, which is Stags’ Leap Winery. Rich black cherry fruit cooked over some pipe tobacco, with a tannic finish that begged for red meat, which was right there on a big platter and it was calling my name. I even put some on my plate and then my beautiful bride reminded me we weren’t eating red meat during Lent. Foiled again.

2004 Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon: A river of soft black fruits, the kind you go tubin’ down on a lazy Sunday afternoon. No rough spots, just loads of blackberry served over a subtle layer of chocolate and toasted coconut. Tannins are melting, so drink up over the next two years or you’ll miss out. This is usually a solid buy in Napa Cabernet and worth the step up from the “plain old Napa” bottling. The couple who brought this had bought two cases of this wine and it was their last bottle. She admitted that when it was first recommended to her, she thought of Mondavi as just being sort of okay and not anything real special. I think the Mondavi Reserve is a damn fine bottle, but once you get over $100, it better be. This is one of my favorite “value” (under $50) Napa Cabs and one that a lot of folks don’t really know about. I hope it stays that way.

2003 Altamura Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: More spice and earth to this one, so a definite contrast to the Mondavi Oakville. While the Mondavi was a gentle ride down the ‘Hooch on a lazy Sunday afternoon, this was more like going to the Atlanta Motor Speedway. For those, like me, who like to chew on their wines.

2005 Alban Pandora Seymour’s Vineyard Edna Valley: This tiny production (150 cases) wine was one I almost missed, but a chance stroll up to the bar for something brought this to my attention. The label was pretty hard to not notice and the wine was equally tasty, so many thanks to the gentleman who brought this. This had California written all over it, with truckloads tractor-trailer loads of blackberry, raspberry sprinkled with soft baking spices, with a finish that sailed on well past the sunset. I’m sure this will be a one time experience and I’m glad to have had it. My second favorite wine and that is only because I’m such a Champers fan.

While there were other wines, including a baby 2003 Trockenbeerenauslese {which means: “selected harvest of dried berries”} that was perfectly sublime, none of them stood out quite as much as the above. As you can tell, this was definitely a new world gathering, at least from what I tried. There were some other old world wines, including a 2001 Barolo and 2004 CdP, but I don’t remember seeing any others. I had both and while they were good wines, they just didn’t do much for me personally, which is par for the course. I’m just more a new world kind of fella when it comes to red wines. The surprise was the other two Champagnes, which I didn’t expect at all.

Haiku
Winos share bottles
Pandora seduces me
Champers rule the night

Snowing...in Georgia...in March...the end is near...

Have a great day and enjoy the snow.

For those of you who don’t live here in Atlanta, here’s a shot of what my back yard looks like as I’m finishing up this post. I know this is nothing compared to what others have experienced this winter, but this is crazy for us southern folk.