n.  1. The condition of being elegantly sumptuous.

2. Something luxurious; a luxury.

Champagne  (SHamˈpān)

n.  1. A white sparkling wine associated with celebration, typically that made (especially from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) in the Champagne region of France.

2. A historical region and former province of northeast France. It was incorporated into the French royal domain in 1314. The sparkling wine Champagne was first produced there around 1700

So how does “luxe” apply to wine? Some would contend that all wine is a luxury. I’m willing to accept that. Others would contend that wine, like food, is a necessity.  I get their point as well. Nevertheless, there are wines that transcend whatever necessity, whether sustenance or complement (in the sense of “complete-ment”) or comfort, that wine may be. These are great wines that provide all of this and more. That “more” can be more emotional experience than mere beverage. These are “sumptuous” (even if austere) wines, wines that can transport you out of your body or even out of time. These are wines with which you want some alone time. Some, maybe most, of these wines offer an exuberant joy but some can offer a severe or even solemn joy. But joy in the sense of pleasure and intellectual as well as sensual stimulation is part of the Luxe Wine Experience. They are never cheap but they are ever amazing. Even though quantities of luxe wines are usually limited, many of them are commercially available because the prices they command often disqualify a large number of people who otherwise want to buy and drink them.

While many types of wines can be luxe, no other class of wines is more luxe than Champagne. Champagne should be the first wine of the evening and can be the last. There is luxury in even the most basic real Champagne but it is the top cuvees that give you “luxe.” These wines define Luxe Champagne.

DOM PÉRIGNON OENOTHÈQUE BLANC, Champagne, 1996 ($370)

The blend is unpublished but the producer notes that typically, there is “a commensurate amount of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in any given year of Dom Perignon.” Whatever the blend, the cuvee was aged 15 years on the yeasts before disgorgement and finishing. Finished at 12.5$AbV     Sensory: pale-gold-straw in color, and  with sparkling; dry, medium bodied with fresh acidity and minimal phenolics.    Pale gold color. Starts with nothing and then … WOW!. Changes in the mouth with richness and flavor added to richness. The color actually lightened in the glass after it was poured. Has the minerality of a grand cru Chablis along with lemony citrus and darker red fruit. The complex and complete flavors come in waves. Super length with the toasty Champagne character completely integrated. Stunning. This is Champagne as WINE and really outstanding wine at that. Drink this from wine glasses rather than flutes or tulips. Consider decanting it. 100.   (This stunningly outstanding wine had three men with over 80 combined years of wine trade experience giggling like three tippling teenagers.)

VEUVE CLICQUOT La Grande Dame, Champagne, 1998  ($140)

12.5% Alcohol. A blend of 64% Pinot Noir (sourced from the Grands Crus at Ay (Vallée de la Marne), and  Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay and Bouzy (Montagne de Reims) and 36% Chardonnay (sourced from three Grands Crus: Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, all in the Côte des Blancs).    Sensory: Deep-straw in color and fully sparkling; dry, medium-bodied with fresh acidity and minimal phenolics.    Rich and delicious. Lots of freshness and lots of integrated citrus and tropical as well as earthy red fruit accented with toast and spice and mineral earth. Classic La Grande Dame. This is a WOW Champagne. Deep, developed, and delicious. 97+.

DOM RUINART Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, 2002 ($130)

12.5% Alcohol. 100% Chardonnay sourced from the Grands Crus vineyards (72% Côte des Blancs, predominantly Chouilly and Avize, and 28% from the northern slopes of the Montagne de Reims, predominantly Sillery and Puisieulx). Sensory: Straw in color with green highlights. Dry, medium-bodied with fresh acidity and minimal phenolics. Really elegant but still lively with fine freshness and brightness. Lots of citrus and more with plenty of mineral. Again, the toast and yeast are elegantly integrated and the feel in the mouth is almost playful. Great aperitif Champagne. Sneaks up on you. Subtle but ultimately offers joy with a dash of solemnity and even restraint. 95. I initially underrated this and mays still be doing so.

The Rarest of the Rare …

VEUVE CLICQUOT Cave Privée Brut, Champagne, 1990 ($220)

11.1% Alcohol. A blend of 56% Pinot Noir, 11% Pinot Meunier, and 33% Chardonnay from 17 crus all over Champagne made to be the 1990 vintage. There were no real “belles and whistles” in the winemaking, blending, and champenization. The big difference here is that these bottles were kept “en tirage” in Clicquot’s cold chalk cellars until they were disgorged in 2008 and then dosed at only 4 grams per liter (and so are a sort of “Extra Brut”). This Cave Privée wine then received an additional four years of bottle aging before its final release in 2012. Sensory: Pale golden straw in color, fully sparkling with remarkable richness. Quite dry with still very fresh acidity and a scant hint of phenolics. The nose is rich and toasty with notes of cocoa and even coffee with whiffs of red fruit and citrus as well as a chalky minerality. The mouth brings more of the same with still ample effervescence. As the wine warms and flattens a bit, it gains in richness and texture. Its depth and complexity command your interest. As it opens further and further, the wine moves past being a beverage into the range of an experience. This isn’t an “aperitif” Champagne or a “food” Champagne, rather, this is contemplative Champagne that peels back to reveal layer after layer. You’ll want to drink this with and as part of a conversation. This wine is a great pleasure. 97. (If I hadn’t so recently tasted Dom Perignon Oenotheque 1996 and La Grande Dame 1998, both of which set a very high standard, I may have/likely would rated this higher.) There are fewer than 20 bottles of this Cave Privée for sale in Texas. There are also a couple of bottles (literally) of 1989 Cave Privée Rose.

THREE NEW CHAMPAGNES from a consortium of the various Barons Rothschild. Spec’s is one of a select handful of retailers in the US who were offered these highly anticipated wines.

BARONS de ROTHSCHILD Blanc de Blancs (Grand Cru), Champagne, NV ($135)

12.5% Alcohol. 100% Chardonnay from Cru’s in the Cote du Blanc (Avize, Cramant, Mesnil-Sur-Oger, Oger and Vertus). 40% Reserve Wine. Aged on the lees 9 months. Sensory: Pale-gold-straw in color; dry, medium-bodied with fresh acidity.  Classic Chardonnay Champagne. with lots of freshness. Elegant mostly citrus fruit but with real complexity and depth. Fine elegant textrue. Really holds the interest. A sort of Blanc de Blancs version of Krug’s Grand Cuvee. 95+.

BARONS de ROTHSCHILD Brut, Champagne, NV ($105)

12.5% Alc. A blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir.  The Chardonnay is from the Cotes du Blancs and the Pinot is from Verzenay, Ay, Mareuilsur- Ay and Bouzy. 40%of the cuvee is reserve wines (all grand and premier cru) 3 years on the lees. Sensory: Pale gold straw in color; dry, medium light-bodied with fresh acidity and a hint of phenolics (which is not at all uncommon for richer Champagne cuvees).  Richer and riper than the Blanc de Blancs with a fine toasty feel. Mix of red fruit and more citrus with a bit of bitter at the end. Big enough to be  a friend to food. Will stand up to aging and would be improved in the short term by a gentle decanting. 94.

BARONS de ROTHSCHILD Brut Rosé, Champagne, NV  ($135)

Tech: 12.5% Alcohol.  A blend of 85% Chardonnay with 15% still red Pinot. Noir.  The Chardonnay is from the Cote du Blanc (Avize, Cramant, Mesnil-Sur-Oger, Oger and Vertus – all Grand crus), The Pinot Noir is from the Montagne de Reims. (40% of the total comes from reserve wines). Aged on the lees for 9 months. Sensory: salmon-orange in color; dry, medium-bodied with balanced acidity and very light phenolics.  Richer with more red fruit. Lots of fruit and lots of toasty richness with enough chalky minerality to keep it elegant. Long and again, quite food friendly. This is Champagne to keep. 94+.

(I suspect my next note on all three of these Rothschild wines will show higher scores as they were still settling down after shipping when I tasted them. I can hardly wait.)

TWO MORE LUXE CHAMPAGNES tasted (well, actually drunk) in a Luxe situation: a limo on the way to and from an event at the Toyota Center. (I have other notes on these two wines but these are the most fun.)

On the way to …

KRUG Grand Cuvee, Champagne, NV ($155)

12% Alcohol. An unspecified blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier, Possibly dozens of wines sourced from 6 to 10 vintages that, after blending and second fermentation, is aged another 6 years on the lees (en tirage). The complete, real-deal, specific tech info is unavailable. But, after drinking the wine, I don’t really care all that much. Sensory: Due to the situation in which we enjoyed this wine, I have no color note. Dry, medium-bodied with freshly balanced acidity and scant but still present phenolics. On pouring, there is the expected citrus fruit, toast, and mineral. As the wine warms and bubbles and flattens a bit in the glass, the citrus expands beyond lemon as some tree fruit (apple, pear?) and subtle red fruit essence comes in, the simple toast expands to toasted brioche served in a bakery, and the mineral combines with the acidity to provide structure and depth.     Bear Note: The wine starts interesting but becomes complex and intriguing. It satisfies as if it were an aged red Burgundy. Truly delicious. Goes way beyond basic “Brut Non-Vintage.” 95+.

And on the way home …

DOM PERIGNON Rosé, Champagne, 2000 ($390)

12% Alc. A blend of 45% Chardonnay and 55% Pinot Noir, of which 1/4 is still red Pinot Noir.     Sensory:  No color note due to the dark limo. Dry, medium full-bodied with freshly balanced acidity and light phenolics.    Deep, rich, and satisfying with supple red fruit and enough ripe citrus to keep it balanced. There is richness from the red fruit and the distinctive toasty-yeasty biscuit character. So good in the mouth, you are reluctant to swallow.  Satisfying and delicious.     Bear Note: More than being Champagne that can stand up to food, this is Champagne that nourishes; it is Champagne AS food. 97.

There now, don’t you feel all decadent?

MONTSARRA Brut, Cava (Spain), NV ($17)

A blend of 65% Macabeo, 17.5% Parellada, and 17.5% Xarel-lo grown on a 99 acre estate near Torrelles de Foix in the classic Penedes part of the larger (and non-contiguous) Cava zone, fermented using methode champenoise, and aged 18 months on the lees in the bottle before disgorging. Finished at 12% AbV.   Sensory: Medium straw in color and fully sparkling; dry, medium-bodied with fresh acidity.  Clean but classic Cava offering toasty-yeasty notes with some mineral earth supporting citrus and an essence of earthy red fruit. Has a welcome richness and enough weight to accompany food. Think of Montsarra as the entry level to “top tier” Cava; it is way past the high-volume mass market offerings that come in black bottles or sport fake French names. 90+. We have often enjoyed this with a range of tapas and recently had a bottle with grilled lamb served over a hearty spinach-and-spring-mix salad with red grapes, blue cheese, and black walnuts.

OPUS ONE, Napa Valley, 2009  ($205)

A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 6%, Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot, and 1% Malbec macerated for 20 days (including fermentation) and aged 17 months in all new French oak barrels.  Bottled un-fined at 14.5% AbV one year prior to release. Sensory: Deep-purple-black in color with well formed legs that stain the glass; dry, medium-full-bodied with a fresh balance and chewy but well-integrated phenols (tannins).   Supple, juicy, beautifully balanced. Offers red and black fruit with notes of tobacco, spice, black pepper, cedar. Dusty oak and earth. Lovely integration. Elegant. Rich but very approachable with a classic dusty feel in the mouth. YUM. 97+. In the short term, a splash through a decanter wouldn’t do it any harm. Neither would serving it in large glasses that allow for some vigorous swirling. Longer term, this 2009 Opus is a wine with a demonstrated track record that will easily repay aging for twenty or more years.

Riedel Vinum Riesling Glass

WHAT DOES IT TAKE to reduce three grown men with over 80 years of wine trade and tasting experience to giggling like a trio of tippling teenagers? Maybe it takes what may be the best bottle of Champagne I have ever tasted – Dom Perignon Oenotheque 1996. Back on October 5th of 2012, Wayne Hannah of Glazer’s, Robert Gilroy of LVMH, and I were tasting in my office when Robert opened and poured a bottle of Dom Perignon Oenotheque 1996 into Riedel Vinum Grand Cru Riesling glasses (which are both my standard tasting glass and my favorite for drinking vinous Chamapgne). I picked up the glass and tasted it and … nothing. The fizzy gold-leaning-toward-bronze liquid in the glass showed me nothing. The nose was completely closed and the first taste was just wet. I looked over at Robert who had just tasted the wine and he had a horrified look on his face. Rather than saying anything, I gently swirled the wine in my glass (yes, you can swirl Champagne). When I tasted it again, it was better. Actually it was excellent and it quickly moved to outstanding. After maybe five minutes, all three of us were giddy over how good it was. And we stayed giddy as we kept coming back to it as we tasted several other wines. Is this the best Champagne I’ve ever tasted? I can’t remember another that was better. This is a Champagne worthy of decanting.

DOM PÉRIGNON OENOTHÈQUE BLANC, Champagne, 1996  ($370.00 – price corrected down from $670)  

Tech Note: 12.5% Alcohol. The blend is unnpublished but the producer notes that typically, there is “a commensurate amount of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in any given year of Dom Perignon.” Whatever the blend, the cuvee was aged 15 years on the yeasts before disgorment and finishing.     Sensory Note: pale-gold-straw in color,  and  with sparkling; dry, medium bodied with fresh acidity and minimal phenolics.    Pale gold color. Starts with nothing and then … WOW!. Changes in the mouth with richness and flavor added to richness. The color actually lightened in the glass after it was poured. Has the minerality of a grand cru chablis along with lemony citrus and darker red fruit. The complex and complete flavors come in waves. Super length with the toasty Champagne character completely integrated. Stunning. This is Champagne as WINE and really outstanding wine at that. Drink this from wine glasses rather than flutes or tulips. Consider decanting it.  BS: 100.

Champagne Quote: (I never imagined I would use this one but it seems appropriate.)

I am drinking the stars. – attributed to Dom Perignon

EXPRESSION 44° Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills (Oregon), 2010 ($41)

Tech: 13.9% Alcohol.  100% Pinot Noir (whole berries with some whole clusters) given a seven day cold soak before fermentation (open tops with punch-downs and some pump-overs) and aging 11 months in all French oak barrels (no new barrels).   Sensory: Medium-red-purple in color with well formed legs; dry and medium-bodied with refreshing acidity.  Supple with lots of ripe red and some black mostly cherry fruit accented with earth and mocha with notes of black pepper and subtle oak. Very tasty and easy to drink. Elegant, Alive, Delicious. BS: 92+. Perfect delicious wine to pair with, you know, that bird.

GOSSET Brut Excellence, Champagne, NV ($41)
Tech: 12% Alcohol. A blend of 45% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay, and 19% Pinot Meunier sourced primarily from Grand and Premier Cru vineyards. Gosset bases this blend on three vintages and then adds 20% reserve wines (wines aged in a sort of solera with many vintages blended together). The wine spends over 2.5 years en tirage (resting on the lees before disgorging). Sensory: Medium straw in color with a hint of green highlights. Dry, light-to-medium-bodied with crisp acidity and scant phenolics. Focused, classy, classic, and delicious. Tart lemon-citrus fruit with some some subtle red fruit notes along with lots of toast and a lot of minerals. Fine style. Gets richer and more satisfying as it warms and flattens (which I like very much). Delicious. BS: 92.

This week’s CHAMPAGNE QUOTE: ”One holds a bottle of red wine by the neck, a woman by the waist, and a bottle of champagne by the derriere.” - Mark Twain

In 2011, I wrote about pairing Champagne and Bordeaux with a wine tailored version of the traditional feast. In 2010, I wrote about pairing Beaujolais (specifically the top Beaujolais-Villages and Cru wines from the excellent 2009 vintage) with the Thanksgiving feed. Before that, it seems like I wrote something each year recommending Riesling and Pinot Noir. It’s not that I don’t like Beaujolais or Champagne or red Bordeaux anymore. Perish the thought. Nor is it that I somehow don’t like Riesling and Pinot anymore. I do still like them and I will be drinking them this year on Thanksgiving. It’s just that I feel like I have said (or at least written) whatever I have to say (at least for now) on the topic of pairing wine with the various variations of the traditional Thanksgiving meal.

So one more time, with feeling: Riesling is a great match for Thanksgiving appetizers and Pinot Noir is the best wine to pair with turkey (whether roasted or deep fried in peanut oil). Amen. Please pass the gravy.

For my 2011 Champagne and Bordeaux Thanksgiving article, please go to http://www.specsonline.com/pdf/bear_Thanksgiving.pdf. None of my previous Thanksgiving efforts are still archived on the Spec’s website so I’m including and update of one below.

Giving Thanks and Drinking Wine (Updated)

This time of year reminds me that I have a lot to be thankful for. While I don’t think of it everyday, I live in good health and enjoy peace and prosperity. I enjoy my family and friends and have a lot of them. I have a great job. I enjoy the freedom to live where and as I want and the freedom to worship as I see fit. I am thankful for the wine I get to drink. I have much to be thankful for and, apparently so do many of my friends and customers. They are already asking me “What wines are you drinking for Thanksgiving?” The general answer is the same every year but the details change. Before I get into the specifics of the answer, let’s look at the challenge of the Thanksgiving meal.

Thanksgiving is the most American of all our holidays and its attendant feast may be the most American of all meals. The holiday comes down to us from the some of our earliest European settlers. The feast is traditionally centered on the turkey (which Ben Franklin thought should have been our national bird) but offers a place for new foods from the many cultures feeding into the American melting pot. Every year, this Thanksgiving feast presents lovers of food and wine with a dilemma. Do we dial back the wine and let the traditional foods shine? Or do we dial back some of the tradition to make the meal more wine friendly? Is there middle ground?

For some wine lovers, the holiday is a chance to bring out their best wines and dazzle their friends, whether casual wine drinkers or fellow aficionados. As satisfying as this can be, there is also the potential for real disappointment if the wine and food don’t pair well or if the treasured bottle is overwhelmed by a traditional menu.

For many families, the traditional Thanksgiving foods are sacrosanct. Aunt Betty’s sweet-and-sour-jalapeno-pickles HAVE to be on the table along with Grandma’s buttered-mashed-yams-with-bananas-honey-and-marshmallows. Of course, these accompany Uncle Bubba’s Cajun fried turkey (“Kids – keep your distance from both Uncle Bubba and the fryer”) with oven-baked jalapeno-oyster-cornbread stuffing and a dozen or so other exotic must-have dishes. How do you pair wine with all that?

In most every Thanksgiving tradition, the turkey is the centerpiece of the meal. By itself, a properly roasted Turkey doesn’t cause any wine pairing problems. It tastes great with almost everything from light fruity whites to the fullest-bodied Chardonnays, and from the lightest, fruitiest reds (such as Beaujolais) to an elegant, perfectly-aged red Bordeaux. Season that simple roast turkey with certain spices or push a typical Italian basil-and-pine-nut-pesto between the skin and the meat and you narrow the wine field a bit. The same is true of that flavor-injected, Cajun-seasoned, deep-fried turkey. Add regional stuffing variations and the typical side dishes that grace many Thanksgiving tables and the difficulties are compounded. Many of the traditional garnishes and relishes include salty, vinegary, and/or pickled flavors. Candied yams and cranberry sauce are each sweet enough to cause lots of wine problems. While I never have figured out which wine goes best with deviled eggs, I still eat ‘em.

Add to all-of-the-above the fact that Thanksgiving has become a melting pot holiday. As cultural traditions from family and friends are merged into the traditional Thanksgiving celebration, Cajun, Italian, Mexican, African, and Asian seasonings, flavors, and techniques are finding a place as part of this most American feast. Fish sauce finds its way into the marinade. Mole may appear as a sauce for the turkey. Chiles grace the table and may be included in recipes. Pot-stickers, spring rolls, piroshki, egg rolls, or empanadas are as likely as boiled shrimp or deviled eggs to appear as appetizers. Anyone up for Jamaican-jerked-turkey?

Two more challenges to consider: Many who enjoy wine with their Thanksgiving dinner only occasionally drink wine (and may not be used to drinking really dry wines at all). And some (many?) turkeys are, regrettably, a bit dry by the time they’re served. It’s also good to remember that at this meal, perhaps more than any other, the traditional foods (from whatever traditions) really are the stars. In most cases, the wine – however good it may be – is in at best a co-star and is more likely playing a supporting role.

So, what’s a wine lover to do? The way I see it, we have three choices. A food and wine free-for-all with no real plan is the easiest … and you might get lucky. In this case, serve the wines you and your family and friends most like to drink on an everyday basis and let the chips fall where they will. Chances are most people will enjoy the food and the wine – but there will be only a limited possibility for the thrill of a great match.

The second choice is for one person to control all the food choices so that everything works well with the sort of wine served. If a treasured bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon or red Bordeaux is the desired accompaniment, a simple roast bird seasoned with olive oil, rosemary, and a hint of garlic and served with a savory bread pudding (in lieu of soggy stuffing), mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, and a simple green bean dish will do admirably. But beware the cranberry sauce, yams, assorted pickles (I love pickled baby corn at Thanksgiving), Cajun spice, or jalapeno cornbread stuffing. This option may work best for a smaller celebration or for another meal besides the Thursday Thanksgiving feast. It is how I plan my normal dinner parties – but Thanksgiving is a bit different.

The third choice is my favorite: Turn everyone loose to contribute and create. Have a bird or two or three at the center of things and combine it all with a range of wines designed to refresh and accompany the broadest possible range of flavors. Some years back, I hosted a Thanksgiving meal where we had twenty-seven adults (family, friends, and strays) and a double handful of kids in one house.  Guests originated from various parts of the US as well as Mexico, Vietnam, China, Russia, and the Middle East – and they all contributed to the mix of food on the table. Our appetizers included lobster and scallop pot-stickers, piroshki, a multi-layered Tex-Mex dip, boiled shrimp, and baked oysters. For the main course, we had a roast turkey, a deep-fried turkey, and a roast goose. I lost track of how many side dishes both traditional and nontraditional were offered.  It was a riot of flavor and fun. And the wines were good.

To get down to specifics for this year:  At our house, we are going to drink Riesling and Pinot Noir this Thanksgiving (but more than one of each). The Rieslings will be served starting about 10:30AM while the cooking and pre-lunch nibbling is going on. We will continue to offer them through lunch to those who are so inclined but I will switch over to Pinot Noir as soon as I begin to carve the bird. While I like Zinfandel and Syrah, my number one choice for red wine with Turkey is Pinot Noir.

For Thanksgiving dinner, super depth and complexity are not necessary; maximum versatility and an invitingly comfortable, even “glug-able” character with lots of fruit are required.  The key to success is lots of fruit and flavor and little, if any, obvious oak character. Fruit and a hint (or more) of sweetness helps offset any spice and makes a better match with any smoky, sweet, and/or vinegary dishes. As tannic and/or oaky wines generally clash with salt, smoke, peppery spice (other than black pepper), and chilies so, I avoid most Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and oak-influenced Chardonnay. Fresh, fruity flavors allow the food to shine and serve to refresh the palate so I generally serve younger wines at Thanksgiving.

So what am I having? Here’s my Thanksgiving wine shopping list.

RIESLING
Donnhoff Estate Riesling of Donnhoff Kreuznacher Krotenpfuhl Riesling Kabinett 2011
Chateau Ste. Michelle – Dr. Loosen “Eroica” Riesling Washington State 2011
Kesselstatt Estate Riesling Qba 2011
Prinz Su Salm “Two Princes” Riesling QbA 2010
Schloss Vollrads Riesling Qba 2010
Selbach Riesling QbA 2010

PINOT NOIR
Talmadge Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands 2008
Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Santa Barbara 2009
Routestock Pinot Noir Oregon 2009
Healdsburg Ranches Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2010
Evesham Wood Pinot Noir Willamette 2010
Henri de Villamont Savigny les Beaune “Clos des Guettes” 1er Cru 2010
Remoissenet Beaune-Greves 1er Cru 2008

And of course we will need some BUBBLY:
Marniquet Brut Tradition Champagne NV
Montsarra Cava Brut (Spain) NV
Gruet Blanc De Noir Sparkling (New Mexico) NV
Varichon & Clerc Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling (Savoie, France) NV

A Thanksgiving Blessing

Lord God, Heavenly Father we bless You and thank You for this food and this wine which You have given us to nourish our bodies and make glad our hearts. We thank You for our families, our friends, and our freedoms. We thank You for this day of rest and reflection. And we thank You for the peace and prosperity that we enjoy in the midst of an often chaotic world. Grant us Your comfort, Your strength, and Your Peace. All of this we pray in the name of Your Son our savior Jesus. Amen.

Wind blown old vine growing in the deep sands of Toro

Back on October 5, I tasted the three wines from the Numanthia Winery in Toro (Spain). In ascending order of price and quality, they are Termes, Numanthia, and Termanthia. Last night (11/14/2012), I got to drink these same wines and a couple more with dinner. When I tasted them in my office, we tasted out of excellent tasting glasses (Riedel Vinum Riesling Grand Cru which I use for virtually all of my extensive in-office tasting as well as for my everyday glass at home). Last night at dinner, we were drinking out of Riedel Vinum Bordeaux glasses. In my office, the Numanthia wines followed three amazing Tete de Cuvee Champagnes: Dom Perignon “Oenotheque” 1996, Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 1998, and Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 1992. Last night the Numanthia wines followed an aperitif of Krug Grand Cuvee.

Here are my notes from October and from last night.

TERMES, Toro, 2009  ($26.00)
In my office: Tech: 14.5% Alcohol. 100% Tinta de Toro (which may or may not be Tempranillo) fermented using pump-overs and aged 14 months in French oak barrels (20% new) and bottled without filtration or fining. The unique vineyards feature un-grafted vines planted in deep sand. Average vine age is 30 years for Termes.     Sensory: Purple in color with well formed legs; dry, medium-bodied with balanced acidity; medium and chewy phenolics.  Dark earthy coffee scented Spanish red. Rustic, subtle leather and spice with a hint of cocoa. Somehow both fresh and rustic. MAybe best with simple grilled meats. BS: 90.
At Dinner: When compared side by side with three vintages of Numanthia, the Termes comes of as fresher and lighter, more open and quite ready to drink although it benefited from the larger glass and a fair amount of swirling. A rough decanting might have served it well. It stayed fresh for the whole two and a half hours we were at the table. Based on its performance last night, I’d bump the score to 91.

NUMANTHIA Toro, 2008 ($54.00)
In my office: Tech: 14.5% Alcohol. 100% Tinta de Toro from 20 hectares (50 acres) of 70 to 100 year old vines planted in deep sand. Fermented using pump-overs in temperature controlled stainless steel with malo-lactic fermentation in barrels during 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Bottled with no filtration or fining.   Sensory: Purple in color with well formed legs; dry, full-bodied with freshly balanced acidity.  Supple, rich, ripe. Spanish but with a decided new world bent. Rich leather. Supple. YUM. BS: 92.
At Dinner: Again, more open in the 25+ ounce capacity Bordeaux glass. The extra time in the glass and ability to swirl it up and let it open up really helped the wine show its stuff. At dinner we also drank the 1998 (the first vintage of Numanthia) and the 2007 out of magnum. The 1998 was drinking beautifully but had plenty of life left in it. The 2007 was drinking but took some time to open up into a truly delicious wine. The 2008 was very backward at first showing more tannins than anything else. While it is tight, it probably looked tighter in comparison to the other two vintages. By the end of the dinner, this 2008 had really come around. I’d also bump up my score here to 93. (Also, I’d score the 2007 at 94 points and the 1998 at 95+.)

TERMANTHIA, Toro, 2007  ($200.00)
In my office: Tech: 14.5% Alcohol. 100% Tinta de Toro from4.8 hectares (11 acres) of 120-plus-year-old vines. This gets a five day pre-fermentation maceration (aka a “cold soak”) in stainless steel before fermentation in French oak vats, plunged down by feet twice per day during the 10 days of fermentation followed by extended 14 day post fermentation maceration. Malolactic fermentation is in 100% new French oak Bordelaise barrels. Once malolactic fermentation is complete, the wine is transferred (racked) into other 100% new French oak barrels for 24 months of aging.    Sensory: Purple in color with well formed legs; dry, full-bodied with freshly balanced acidity and quite chewy phenolics.  Super rich and chocolatey but in the best way. More black than red fruit with lots of extraction.  Notes of spice and subtle leather. Chewy, and somewhat rustic but with the elegance sand imparts and more. Distinctly Spanish but with echoes from Bordeaux and California. BS: 94+.
At Dinner: This massive extracted wine benefitted most from the larger glass but still needed more time to come around. As it was served later (the other four wines had been in the glasses on the table when we sat down), it had the least amount of time to breath and evolve. Nevertheless, it did open up in the glass. This is a monster big wine that reminds me of an Andalusian horse in that it offers both power and elegance. With food and in the bigger glasses with more time to both evaluate and appreciate, my score bumps up to at least 96. With more time, it may have gone higher than that. For me, this may be more of drinking wine than a dinner wine but I still think it would shine with braised beef short ribs or maybe a braised lamb shank.

All in all, a great opportunity and a very interesting chance to compare both the wines and the idea of tasting versus drinking.

Reidel Duck Decanter

Young wines are often decanted because the need air. The need air in the sense of oxygenation as opposed to oxidation (but of course too much oxygenation leads to oxidation. When many wines are young, they often show “tight” or “closed” which is to say that they don’t show much at all. They need aeration to help work some oxygen into the wine and allow the volatile gasses that make up aroma and flavor to emerge. You can achieve this through pouring the young wine into large glasses and swirling but enough swirling of this sort to really open up the wine can be tiresome. Rather than swirling in the glass, it can be better dump the bottle in to a large decanter where a large surface area allows a lot of air contact. The two most common vessels for this sort of decanting are Duck Decanters and Captain’s or Ship’s decanters. Both have large surface areas and each has it’s own advantages. Duck decanters are much easier to pour.

Bormioli Captain’s Decanter

Ship’s decanters can be swirled to further enhance the oxygenation of the wine they hold. Duck decanters are not at all suited for swirling. And Ship’s decanters can be awkward to pour, especially as you get toward the end of the wine. At home I sometimes use a simple one liter glass carafe as a decanter for a young red that needs a rough splash of oxygenation. The technique here is to pour the young wine (usually a red but a tight young Chardonnay from Burgundy’s Cote de Beaune or Chablis or even a top California Chardonnay such as Hanzell or Stony Hill can be a candidate) roughly into a large container with a bit of splashing. For a really young red, you might roll it from the first decanter into a second decanter for another splash of air. Then the wine can sit in the decanter breathing for another hour or more. (Please see below for a note on “breathing.”)

Older red wines need to be decanted not to add air but to remove sediment, or more precisely to move the wine off of the sediment. As red wines age, the phenols (tannins, anthocyans, flavonoids) polymerize (link up into molecular chains) which ultimately get too big to stay in suspension in the liquid and so precipitate out into a grainy or even gritty dark sediment or deposit. There is nothing wrong with this and it certainly won’t hurt you to ingest it but it is ugly in the glass and can cloud the wine if it is swirled up into it. And the texture in the mouth is not all that pleasant either. So it is best to decant older wines that have “thrown a sediment” in the bottle. Who are the candidates for decanting? Vintage Port and red Bordeaux are the first things that come to mind but any age-worthy red with eight or more years in the bottle can be a candidate. As these wines are older and have (we hope) developed with bottle age, the do not generally need any aeration. Some, especially wines based on Syrah and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Sauvignon can be a bit “reduced” (Please see note below on Oxidation and Reduction) so they may need a little air to open up even after some years of aging but that aeration can generally be better gained in the glass rather than in the decanter.

Godinger Dublin Decanter

So how do you go about decanting an older wine? In addition to the bottle of older wine and a good corkscrew, you’ll need three things: an appropriately-sized decanter, a small flashlight, and a decanting funnel (not to be confused with an aerating funnel). An “appropriately sized decanter is one that closely approximates the capacity (if not the shape) of the bottle you are decanting. Ideally, you are decanting a 750ml bottle into a decanter that can hold a smidge more than 750ml. (A “smidge” is less than a “skosh” which in turn is less than a “bit.”  But I digress …) Use a single bottle decanter or, in a pinch, use an old clear wine or Champagne bottle. The small flashlight replaces the traditional candle on which I have occasionally singed a finger. A flashlight may lack the romance of a candle but a good one is brighter and more effective at showing you when the sediment begins to move in the bottle from which you are pouring. The proper decanting funnel has a crook at the end of the spout so as to guide the wine to the side of the decanter to run down to the bottom thus avoiding splashing and unwanted aeration. Someone decanting a particularly old bottle may want to first purge the air from the decanter by spraying in an inert gas mixture such as those found in “Private Preserve” or “Vineyard Fresh.” By replacing the air in the decanter with inert gas, you further reduce the possibility of oxidizing a precious older vintage.

If you know well in advance that you are going to open a particular bottle, stand it up for a day or even two before the big event. Even a couple of hours up right is a good thing. Ideally, this standing will take place in your temperature-controlled wine storage cabinet, closet, or cellar. When you stand the bottle up, be gentle and make note of which side of the bottle was down when it was laying in the rack, box, or bin. Just before you open the bottle, make sure the decanter is clean and dry with no off smells. If you are going to, now is the time to gas the decanter. Stand it up and then put the funnel into the mouth of the decanter. Now gently open the bottle taking special care with the cork. Generally, I prefer to use a “pull-tabs” corkscrew but when opening older wines I prefer the Screwpull waiter’s model. Whatever you do, don’t jar or knock around the bottle as you are likely to cloud the wine with too much movement. After the bottle is open, gently turn the bottle so that the side that was down in the rack is closest to the decanter. Now lift and gently, slowly, steadily pour the wine from the bottle into the decanting funnel as you shine the flashlight up from below the shoulder of the bottle to illuminate the wine as it passes. When sediment begins to move toward or into the neck of the bottle, you will see it. At that point, stop pouring and gently set the bottle down. If all went well, you have about 90% or more of the contents of the bottle in the decanter and the decanter is filled up into the neck. Now stopper the decanter and the wine is ready to be moved to the table or to a sideboard for service.

As to Champagne, why on earth would you decant Champagne? Well, it turns out that not everyone likes ALL that fizz and many may appreciate Champagne as much or more as a wine as they do as a sparkling wine. Gently decanting Champagne as described for aged reds above will reduce the fizz by 15 to 20% (but by no means eliminate it) and give the wine a chance to take on a bit of air and so open up which increases its “vinousity” or wine character. I don’t do it often (especially not at home as my wife is a fizz fan) but I have been known to decant champagne both young and old. One of my dirty little secrets is that I like my Champagne a bit less fizzy and a bit warmer (say 50-55°F) than the accepted norm. Decanting can help me get there.

Why decant? Because young or old, red, white, or sparkling, decanting can increase your enjoyment of the wines you drink. More wines will benefit from decanting than you may realize so it’s a good idea to keep a couple of basic decanters or even just a few clear empy bottle and glass carafes around. Just be sure to use the right size and shape decanter and the right technique for the age and type of wine you are preparing to enjoy.

BREATHING

The point of long bottle aging of certain wines (such as red Bordeaux and Burgundy, Vintage port, Northern Rhone Syrah, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rioja, and others) is to let them naturally develop from aromas to bouquet, from simple to complex, and from youthful freshness to fascinating maturity. These wines can be said to be age-worthy. Not all wines develop in this way and so these others should be drunk young. Also, we sometimes want to drink age-worthy wines before they are fully mature. In either case, young wines should be treated and served differently than mature wines.

Since these young wines have not had a chance to develop in the bottle, they will often benefit from air contact. Working air into a young wine, whether by an intentionally rough decanting, extended breathing, or swirling the wine in the glass allows the aromas and flavors to develop more than simply pouring the wine into the glass and tasting or drinking. As the wine is exposed to the air it develops and “opens up.” While this is the beginning stage of oxidation, many in the wine trade call this beneficial air exposure “oxygenation.”

For many younger wines, swirling the wine the glass may be sufficient. If the wine is particularly tight or very young, more vigorous swirling, a rough decanting, or an extended period of breathing – either in a decanter or in the glass – may be called for. More vigorous swirling is fine for tastings but may not be the best solution for a wine to be enjoyed at the dinner table.

OXIDATION & REDUCTION

When oxygen combines with compounds in wine, those compounds can pick up one or more oxygen atoms and become “oxidized”. These new compounds have different sensory characteristics. For example, when ethanol (the main alcohol found in wine) is oxidized it becomes acetaldehyde – which in turn can be oxidized to form acetic acid. Each smells different.

Similarly, polyphenols (tannins, anthocyans, and flavonoids) can be oxidized to quinones, and metals such as copper, iron, and manganese can be transformed from Cu+ to Cu2+, Fe2+ to Fe3+, and Mn2+ to Mn3+, respectively.

Reduction is the opposite of oxidation; it is a process whereby compounds lose oxygen atoms. Since wine fermention is an anaerobic process (without oxygen), a number of “reduced” compounds are produced. Reduced sulfur and nitrogen compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans, are well-known for the negative “reduced” or “reductive” characteristics they give to wines. A little aeration after opening the bottle often cures what ails’em.

WINE PRESERVATION

Gently decant them into a clean decanter or clean empty wine bottle. There are two types of decanters: those for aerating young wine and those for decanting older wines that would be damaged by aeration. If you use a decanter, use the kind for older wines. YOu do not want the decanted wine to have a large surface area.

Rinse the original bottle very thoroughly with cold water and thoroughly drain it.

With minimal splashing, return the decanted Port to its original bottle.

Pour the wine and then gas (with Private Preserve or other nitrogen and/or argon-based wine preservation gas) and stopper what is left in the bottle.

Or you can decant and then pour from and gas the decanter, as long as it has a stopper. Gassed and stoppered decanters can keep the Port as well as a gassed and stoppered bottle. Or, if you know you will drink half the bottle, you can fill (from the decanter) a half bottle and then gas and stopper it and save this half bottle for another day. As long as you gas the wine early and seal it, it will keep for at least a week. It will keep even better if you keep it in the refrigerator (but not in the door).

You can use these same techniques for decanting and preserving any bottle of wine. The key to success is to expose the wine to as little air as possible. Decant gently using a funnel that runs the wine down the side of the bottle rather than one that sprays the wine out. The truly concerned wine geek might gas the empty decanter before decanting to displace the air from the decanter to further diminish the effect of oxygen. It is best to use a decanter that will be filled into the narrow neck to minimize surface area where the wine can be in contact with air.

I’ve tried every other technique I have heard of to preserve opened wine. Gassing and refrigerating the wine is the way to go.

DELAMOTTE Brut, Champagne, NV
Tech Note: 12% Alcohol. A blend of 50% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, and 20% Pinot Meunier with all of the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes coming from Grand Cru vineyards. The Chardonnay comes primarily from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Avize, and Oger. The Pinot Noir is from vineyards along side the Marne river in Bouzy, Tours-sur-Marne and Ambonnay. The Pinot Meunier comes from the Vallée de la Marne.  Delamotte uses no oak, allows three years on the lees, uses no particular yeast selection, and uses only a little reserve wine to guide the wine.      Sensory Note: pale straw in color. Dry, medium-plus-bodied with fresh acidity. Toasty, earthy, rich. Lots of feel and flavor in the mouth. Ripe citrus and some red fruit. Lovely Texture. Enough mineral but not over the top.     Bear Note: Really Delicious in a lovely, fresh but satisfying, more aperitif style. I can’t get enough of it. BS: 94. ($39.00)

Do yourself a favor and let it warm up and flatten out a bit in the glass for more richness and depth. Or even decant it into a large carafe before serving into wine (as opposed to Champagne) glasses.

A Champagne Quote:

Gentlemen, in the little moment that remains to us between the crisis and the catastrophe, we may as well drink a glass of Champagne. - Paul Claudel