Loath to admit it...

Alright, this post is troublesome for me because I am about to admit that I not only drank a sparkling shiraz, but that I also well... GUhghhhhhhhhh! Well, I also didn't think it was horrible. In fact, I kind of liked it, which made every thing I have ever stood for fly out the window in one big gulp.

Here's the deal: I typically am not a huge proponent of Australian wines. Not that I have a problem with them or where they come from, or even the people who make them. They've just never been my bag. 

For the longest time I have had a bottle of The Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz (NV) sitting undisturbed in my cellar. I'll admit that I got the bottle for free from work, because the label had peeled off of it rendering it unsaleable; unpresentable, except that is if you were at my house this past Sunday when I cooked up an awesome batch of ribs and was out of beer and table wine to serve our guests. (The sale of alcohol is oddly prohibited here on Sunday's in old world Minnesota).  I dug around my cellar, petting a few bottles or Burgundy, Barbaresco, Brunello, and Priorat. Not gonna happen. I was not going to cave and open a bottle of $$ wine for some friends who would be equally happy with some beer.

In fact, these days I don't even go near my cellar because everything is totally of limits for the time being. What I was dying to drink with the mustardy, Carolina style ribs was a bottle of Altos Las Hormigas Malbec, or a bottle of Artazuri Rosado, or a bottle of Stelzner Claret, or maybe a Chateau Terriere Beaujolais Village, sightly chilled. Well you get the picture... anything but the dreaded Black Chook. Black Choke is what I called it in my mind as I unearthed it from its den.

I had been offered a glass of it by, none other than it's brand ambassador, my charming and witty friend, David Forziatti of Epicurean Wines, just two Friday's past when we were out to dinner in NYC's SoHo at a great bistro called Shorty's 32. Magically (I thought to myself) David had placed the BCSS on the by the glass list. I declined the offer at the time and opted for a glass of Juve Y Camps Cava, followed by several bottles of Txaolina (whoops!). He teased me for hating on Shiraz and I rolled my eyes in my usual know-it-all way.

Turns out that the Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz performed beautifully with food. It was markedly dry (can I emphasize this more?), it had a fine bubble (not the beach balls I had imagined), and beyond all of this it was true to its varietal character. It tasted like Syrah. It was pleasant! I raised my eyebrow. I drank my glass quietly, as I enjoyed a yummy summer meal of ribs, German potato salad, and green beans...

Artazuri Rosado: Best of 07 vintage, so far...

A quick post to give a heads up on the Eric Solomon import, Artazuri Garnacha Rosado 2007, from Navarra, Spain. Typical retail:$10.99

Yum. Yum. A spicy, spanky bone dry Spanish rosado from one of America's best Spanish importers.

Rose of garnacha can be a little overly fruity during warm vintages, but this guy possesses brambly raspberry fruit and some definite tangy acid. At 13.5% alc. it is plenty dry and very, very refreshing. 

Tonight's bottle was my third Artazuri of the summer, which I paired with a moderately spicy Indian vindaloo sauce mixed with paneer and spinach. A very tasty combo, indeed, although I was imagining it with some Carolina style ribs or a pork tenderloin as well.

Whatever you decide to eat (or not eat) with this wine:

Pick it up at your local wine merchant ASAP. Sit out of doors and sip it up with a friend.

It is my favorite pinky of summer 2008, thus far.

March visit to Casa Silva & Altos Las Hormigas

In March, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Chile and Argentina because of my work repping the outstanding wines of Chicago based importer, Vin Divino (& Marc Degrazia). Vin Divino works with only two producers in South America, Casa Silva of Colghagua, Chile AND Altos Las Hormigas or Mendoza, Argentina.

I had the honor of traveling with some amazing people from other parts of the Midwest and Florida on this whirlwind adventure of amazing hospitality, mind-blowingly beautiful vineyards and scenery, and marvelous culinary experiences. 

The trip for me really was eye opening for many reasons, the first being that I came to finally abandon my bias against New World wines which I had always felt were somewhat homogeneous. In fact the wines of both producers are some of the most terroir driven I have ever tasted. Although I am still not convinced that growing Pinot Noir in Chile is a great idea. I am ready to be proven wrong in four years from now when Casa Silva's vines are old enough to produce wine.

For now, I am going to post some photos showing the vineyards and winery of Casa Silva and Altos. Enjoy!

Cha Cha Charlemagne

The past week I had the fortune of working with the sparkling Vivienne Holliday of Burgundy's Louis Latour. Viv and I were lucky enough to be showing our clients some incredible 2006, yet to be released, Grand Crus, my favorite of which not surprisingly was the Corton Charlemagne.

Oh my God, what a tasty, frighteningly expensive (as ever) beast of a wine.

Glug.

Tasting the old Coton Ch. throughout the day didn't even manage to rob it of it's lusty charms, which is to that that whenever I get the opportunity to taste a wine of it's stature and brilliance, I would rather be anywhere other than suburbia - in this case Minnetonka and elsewhere. Sorry to sound like a jerk, but it's true...

The 2006 Latour Corton Charlemagne is at this point of its evolution an aristocratic, big boned lad who will positively become quite handsome over the next 20 years in bottle. I would recommend decanting it during the next 3-5 years as it rounds out of adolescence, treating it as you would a full bodied red wine. It expressed aromatics of brown spices and almond paste with a seamless acidity and tannin structure, and finally a fruit profile not entirely identifiable; which if anything reminded me ever so slightly of Calvados, or autumnal red apples.

Beyond all of this, we are dealing with an excellent vintage again and wine that is rife with opulent vinosity and forget-about-the-fact-that-I-am-Chardonnay, complexity.

Go Burgundy!

Other suggested Latour wines:

Domaine Latour Chateau Corton Grancy Grand Cru 2003:

Don't give up on '03 yet! The short amount of bottle age has done this extreme vintage Grand Cru some major justice. Absolutely delicious and ready to drink, if you are holding one. 

Any of the Chablis from Latour and their secondary Domaine, Simmonet-Febvre, of which I highly recommend the Presuses Grand Cru 2006 bottling. Classic Chablis!

Latour Mersault-Blagny 1er Cru 2006:

Smelled of a lilac! Intense fruit and acidity, with a round creamy mid-palate. Very sexy.

Latour Santenay AC 2005:

If you can still scare some of this up in your market, grab it. This wine despite having only AC status, will lie down nicely next to any cru selections you may be holding. And you won't feel guilty about opening this wine on a week night. Very charming with sweet kirschy fruit and a lean core of acidity.