June 1st, 2009

The Diary of a Terroirist (uh, note spelling and subject matter) continues here with an Ode to the Obscure: specifically, the Crespiello (a k a Vidadillo de Almonacid), an indigenous grape to Carinena in Aragon, well-known in the 12th Century under the name Crespiello. The wine comes from a vineyard planted in 1900 on limestone land, produced and bottled for Bioenos under the label “Pulchrum” , vintage 2003, and imported by Wine Imports of New York.

This is likely the first wine blog entry eulogizing this obscure grape, but I hope it is not the last. I shared this wine with a dear wine geek friend of mine also seeking to gain entrance to the Century Club, where members who have tasted and cataloged 100 distinct wine grapes may join. We were both amazed at 1) the deep, opaque purple color for a mature wine, 2) the muti-faceted evolution of both aromatics and flavors, 3) and the intensely firm yet smooth and long tannins. Overall, the wine made run-0f-the-mill cabernet sauvignon seem like blush wine only fit for girly-men. In other words, this was a wine fit for the muscle-toned Ah-nold, its inky purple tannins staining his wide, grinning white teeth.

We foolishly neglected to decant the wine, then decided it was better, watching the wine go through a dozen evolutions within an hour in our wineglasses. At first it seemed like a Piedmontese nebbiolo, with earth, mushroom and leather nuances; then it moved south in Italy, with a combination of the tannic intensity of the sagrantino grape of Umbria with the aromatic finesse and spice of aglianico. Then it seemed to open and ripen further, moving firmly into its Iberian origins, seeming to have the fine tannic depth of Ribera del Duero, but with an ineffible spicy perfume (between cardamom, sandlewood, coriander and frankinsense) and layered palate complexity that gives  a whole new dimension in the palette of Spanish red wines.

Retailing around $38, this wine is truly an amazing find for fans of rare indigenous varieties that are hallmarks of their terroir, and drinks at its price point. Many Spanish (even Bordeaux) reds of 2003 were wilted in the heat and have faded and died; this has barely begun and with its tannic intensity will last decades.

This grape variety, native to northern Spain’s Carinena district, could add depth and complexity to wines in Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Toro and throughout Castilla y Leon if it were allowed to be propagated and blended. With a heritage reaching back to the time of El Cid, you can’t get better lineage than this for a fine red wine grape in Spain, and every opportunity should be taken for it to become better known to growers and winemakers both in and outside of northern Spain.

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May 26th, 2009

Virginia wines have had their best showing on the world stage to date, at the recently concluded London Wine & Spirits Fair. Eleven Virginia wineries attended and shared booth space under the auspices of Christopher Parker of New Horizon Wines, specializing in exporting VA wines to the U.K. and bringing U.K. wine tourists to Virginia. Parker’s efforts were supported by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and U.S. Commercial Services.

On Wednesday, May 27th, Mary Jordan, London correspondent for the Washington Post, published a story titled “Virginia Wines? Yes, and London Likes them.” While some leading U.K. wine writers like Steven Spurrier, Hugh Johnson and Oz Clarke had heard of or tasted Virginia wines previously, most attendees had not only not heard about Virginia wines but weren’t sure where Virginia was, according to Jordan. However, they were not only open minded, but enthusisastic about what they found, especially Virginia’s specialty, the esoteric white viognier grape. The article begins thus…”Lisa Abbott, a cork master at her English wine club (it’s called the Wasters), took a sip of a Viognier from Virginia and declared with obvious surprise, “It’s an absolute classic!” For the complete article online, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/25/AR2009052502149.html.

Organizer for the Virginia delegation, Christopher Parker, sent a blog entry to this site before it began but found he was so busy running the event he didn’t have time to update until afterwards (I know the feeling).   Here are highlighted exerpts of his blog describing the event:

“Steven Spurrier came by at noon and spent over an hour with us tasting all of the wines. He commented that all of the wines were excellent, “elegant wines made by elegant people”.

Many of the trade visitors were surprised that Virginia produced wine and were excited by the discovery that they were all excellent. There was a real buzz building by the end of the first day.

The second day was busier than the first and the word was getting around the hall that we were there presenting wonderful wines, particularly Viognier, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Later that day Oz Clarke arrived, announcing that he had been trying to carve out time to visit since the beginning of the event, He was delighted that we were. He loved the elegance and texture of the wines. I look forward to continuing the discussion with Oz Clarke at some time.

By the end of the show we were all exhausted, elated, and the winemakers and winery owners now know that their wines are truly world-class - the largest trade event in the largest wine import market in the world has just told them so! Congratulations to everyone involved! I start work on Monday to follow up with over 300 people that visited our stand.  More updates soon!”

For Parker’s complete blog visit http://winesofvirginia.blogspot.com/.

Virginia wine has stepped onto the world stage, and takes applause! Congratulations to the winemakers and owners who attended the London show, to Parker for organizing it, and for every grower, winery and winemaker in the Virginia industry who have worked since the 1970s to get to this point!

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May 26th, 2009

The 34th International Eastern Wine Competition (IEWC) took place 5/18-20 in Watkins Glen in New York’s Finger Lakes. Produced by Vineyard & Winery Management, a leading North American wine trade publication, the  IEWC is one of the oldest and largest wine competitions in the country.

There were over 1750 wines entered in the IEWC, with 40 Double Gold medals, 83 Gold medals, 517 Silver medals and 604 bronze medals.

Regional wines made a strong showing, with New York dominating the top awards, winning three of five Best of Category  awards for Best White Wine, Best Sparkling and Best Fruit Wine (a fruit wine made by Flickerwood in PA used NY fruit).

In the Riesling Championships, a subset of the IEWC, Finger Lakes rieslings won two of four best in class awards (dry and semi-sweet), and the 2006 Tierce riesling won a “triple crown”; best dry riesling, Riesling Champion and Best White wine.

Virginia and Maryland also placed with double gold medal wines; Potomac Point’s norton 2007 (Virginia’s native grape) and also Cooper Vineyards’ 2008 viognier were the top Virginia wines, with Sugarloaf Mountain’s red Bordeaux blend “Comus”2007 earning double gold from Maryland. Westbend Vineyards in North Carolina also won double gold for their 2006 Yadkin Valley chardonnay.

Complete results are availalble online at www.vwm-online.com (link from the competition results link for IEWC on the righht of the home page).

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April 13th, 2009

Following the Virginia Wine Experience in London two years ago, and New Horizon Wine’s Virginia wine tasting in London last September, eleven Virginia wineries will attend the London International Wine Fair May 12-14th. All wineries are clients of New Horizon Wines (www.newhorizonwines.com) which is working aggressively to sell Virginia wines in the U.K. Visit this website during the event for updated blog posts from participants at the fair in London!

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March 29th, 2009

I’ve had the pleasure of tasting new releases at Wineries Unlimited and at Virginia wineries lately and wanted to share a few of my favorites with you.

Absolutely Brand New: Two lovely releases from Mountfair Vineyards, a new, small artisanal winery north of White Hall in the Monticello AVA. This winery specializes in red Bordeaux blends, and made a splash with its debut wines from the difficult ‘06 vintage, two of which won silvers and one (”Wollomolloo”, a petit verdot-dominated blend) won a gold in the state Governor’s Cup wine competition in January.

Having seen what a fine job Mountfair did with their three 2006 wines, I enjoyed the opportunity to taste their first wines from the excellent 2007 vintage at their spring open house in the wilds of northern Albemarle County. I was impressed with both wines, both variations on the red Bordeaux blend theme. “Inaugural” is a Right Bank-style blend with a Virginia twist; 60% cabernet franc, 25% merlot, and 15% petit verdot. The wine spent 13 months in American/French Oak with a total production of a mere 105 cases. The wine showed ripe fruit but taut, racy structure and will benefit with further aging, likely best after September.

The “Engagement” was more forward, approachable and a bit more supple, with merlot being the dominant blend component (merlot 65%, cabernet franc 25%, petit verdot 10%). This wine also saw 13 months in American/French Oak and a mere 104 cases were produced. This has a plump juiciness to it, while retaining balance and freshness will be easier to enjoy in the short term. Both wines show the finesse and elegance that is a house style, and neither of these ’07s are over-extracted, too tannic or out of balance which unfortunately I’ve seen in a few cases despite the high quality of the vintage.

It’s nice to be present at the introduction of fine terroir-driven wines  to the market, and for those who prefer classically structured elegantly styled Bordeaux wines to the more gutsy style of the West Coast, Mountfair is a worthy addition to the world of fine Virginia wines.

So New It’s Not Even Finished Yet: Also attending the opening was Brad McCarthy, a talented Virginia winemaker of long standing who gave me a taste of his ‘08 cabernet franc from the Ox Eye Vineyard in the Shenandoah Valley. Amazingly dark in color (he showed me a picture of absolutely blue colored grapes in the bin), the wine had a real depth of black cherry fruit rounded by bright berry tones, and the richness of the fruit  was such that only in the empty glass could one discern the 100% new Missouri oak. I look forward to seeing this finished product.

Brad also made riesling from the Ox Eye vineyard last year (disclosure: he was kind enough to give me a couple of gallons of fresh juice which I fermented into my first home wine last fall), and I look forward to tasting the final product. It’s no mistake that the best Virginia riesling comes from the cooler, drier Shenandoah Valley AVA and I expect exciting things in Brad’s capable hands.

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