Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

Summer’s Best Wines: Beyond Chardonnay

June 18, 2018 by Don Lahey

Summer’s best wines are typically the ones in my glass, and yours, too, I hope. That’s at least the way it should be, but how to find the best summertime wines is a matter of preference and each wine lover’s ultimate quest for summer’s ideal wine.

Chardonnay comes to many people’s minds by default as Chardonnay is the most cultivated white grape variety worldwide, but there are so many more great summertime wines from which to choose. Sauvignon Blanc with its crisp, herbal edge and refreshing acidity gets two thumbs up. And why not consider Sauvignon Gris, the darker skinned, rounder, more aromatic relative of Sauvignon Blanc? Chile fashions exciting Sauvignon Gris, with Casa Silva and Cousino Macul two of the finest producers of the varietal.

Bordeaux offers a dizzying array of pleasurable summertime drinking, too, with white wines from 100% Sauvignon Blanc to blends containing Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle. Chenin Blanc also deserves serious consideration as a summertime favorite. Vouvray Sec, the quintessential dry Chenin Blanc, from France’s Loire Valley, makes a wonderful warm weather companion. Racauderie Gautier and Vigneau-Chevreau are two reliable high quality Vouvray producers, though South Africa also fashions first rate Chenin Blanc. The newly released Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc strikes me as an especially fine, affordable version of South Africa’s premier white grape.

Torrontes, Argentina’s flagship white varietal, offers more exciting summer drinking, especially if one enjoys pronounced aromatics and a touch of exotica in a wine. Areyna from the mountains of Argentina crafts an aromatic, well-balanced Torrontes that can be enjoined with or without food.

Some other summertime favorites include beautiful crisp Italian white wines such as Gavi and Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Massone’s San Cristoforo Gavi and Le Calcinaie’s Vernaccia di San Gimignano constitute perennial favorites because of their fresh natural flavors, which quench the thirst, please the palate, and refresh the soul. And what would summer be like without an invigorating glass of Provençal rosé? Not a very good summer at all. I think I will pour myself a glass of Domaine Blaïs Côtes de Provence Rosé and think about my next favorite best summer wine, the one in my glass. Enjoy!

Mencia: Spain’s Other Great Red Varietal

May 23, 2018 by Don Lahey

Spain has long been associated with great red wines, particularly the red wines of Rioja and Ribera del Duero from the iconic Tempranillo varietal, so much that other equally exciting indigenous varietals such as Garnacha, Prieto Picudo and Mencia have been all but ignored until recently.

Mencia is a premium red Spanish grape varietal found primarily in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras appellations of northern Spain. Although the Mencia varietal was once considered by enologists to be the direct ancestor and precursor of Cabernet Franc, recent DNA testing has shown that this is not the case. Mencia and Cabernet Franc share some common characteristics, but not the same ancestry. It is now widely believed that Mencia and Portugal’s Jaen de Dão (Jaen for short) grape variety are one and the same. However, not everyone agrees. What we do know is that Mencia is an ancient varietal that has been around for quite some time. Bierzo’s original plantings of Mencia likely date to the earliest Roman settlers in the region, who cultivated the varietal two thousand years ago in what remains one of Europe’s most isolated wine regions. It is the grape’s isolation and not any inferior quality that caused it to be overlooked outside its ancestral home.

Bierzo is a remote area of Galicia, Spain’s cool, windswept province astride the Atlantic. Certainly, it is the very isolation of the Bierzo that has allowed Mencia to survive and even thrive. Moreover, the average age of the hillside vines in Bierzo is quite old, which lends itself to the production of high quality wines. Consequently, the wonderfully fruity, spicy, and wholly intriguing Mencia varietal has recently been discovered, or rather re-discovered, by modern legions of wine drinkers. They are no doubt intrigued by this unique viticultural entity we call Mencia, whose many attributes are accentuated by organic farming, low vineyard yields, and modern winemaking techniques practiced by Losada Vinos de Finca and other like-minded wineries whose emphasis is on quality rather than quantity. Since the 1990s, Mencia has steadily grown in popularity to the point where there are now more than 20,000 acres of Mencia vines being cultivated in Spain. Altos de Losada, Peza do Rei, and Casal Novo are three excellent producers whose Mencias are well worth seeking out.

Salud!
Don

What to look for in May 2018

May 18, 2018 by Kristina Manning

In May, The International Wine of the Month Club’s Premier Series is proud to offer four superlative wines from four countries on three continents. The first in this superlative series is the 2014 Fore Family Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot from the Meister Vineyard. With Fore Family’s Merlot, put aside any preconceived notions about Merlot being a light, less than stalwart companion to Cabernet. In Fore Family’s 2014 Meister Vineyard Merlot, a deep, nearly impenetrable color underscores the wine’s hearty structure and extroverted personality. Ripe firm tannins underpin layers of rich cassis fruit, hints of tobacco leaf, and cacao in the nose and flavor profile of this wine, calling to mind the finest Merlot based wines of Bordeaux’s legendary St. Emilion appellation. This is a wine destined to age well for up to a decade or more.

Our next Premier Series feature is the 2016 Tenuta Le Calcinaie Vernaccia di San Gimignano from the great Simone Santini, who always fashions pure, exemplary Vernaccia di San Gimignano from organic grapes. It appears that Santini’s 2016 Tenuta Le Calcinaie Vernaccia di San Gimignano is not only truly exceptional, it is the finest Le Calcinaie he has produced to date – no mean feat considering the previous vintage, the delicious 2015 Le Calcinaie Vernaccia di San Gimignano, made Wine Spectator’s Top 100 List. Nevertheless, in 2016, Santini has again raised the bar on Vernaccia, Tuscany’s emblematic white grape variety. Rare among Tuscan white wines for its flavor, freshness, and longevity, Vernaccia di San Gimignano owes its 800 year reign as the region’s most lauded white wine to the predominance of the relatively rare Vernaccia clones that thrive in the environs of San Gimignano. The 2016 Tenuta Le Calcinaie Vernaccia di San Gimignano, produced from 100% Vernaccia di San Gimignano from Simone Santini’s estate, cuts a fine figure in the glass; a glint of gold, a hint of the soft green of the magical Tuscan landscape, and a golden yellow glow reminiscent of the Tuscan sun give this wine real eye appeal. Better still, this wine is pure, aromatic, and seductive on the palate. The 2016 Le Calcinaie Vernaccia di San Gimignano offers up a refreshing draught of fruit, soft scents of almond blossom, subtle mineral tones, and twists of ripe citrus and raw almond that add length and vibrancy from the first sip until the last.

Next in this month’s exciting quartet is Ernesto Catena’s biodynamically produced 2014 Tikal Natural from organic grapes, a masterful blend of Malbec (60%) and Syrah (40%). Tikal’s 2014 Natural from a vineyard in Mendoza’s renowned Vista Flores region adds further evidence to Argentina’s ability to craft world-class red wines that do not require bank loans to enjoy. A more natural, plush, and thoroughly satisfying red wine will be hard to find as the 2014 Tikal Natural captures the essence of biodynamic farming. It offers a stunning pomegranate color, fresh cherry and wild raspberry aromas as well as a hedonistic array of fruit, spice, mocha and vanilla flavors to tantalize the palate. Bold-flavored, smooth and immensely satisfying, it may be difficult to drink other red wines after tasting the 2014 Tikal Natural.

Rounding out this month’s diverse offerings is the newly released 2016 Château Ducasse Graves Blanc, a traditional style white Bordeaux that underscores the success of white Graves in the superb 2016 Bordeaux vintage. This youthful white wine displays a brilliant crystalline color with a flash of green along with a delightful array of floral and fruit aromas to entice the nose. Dry, yet rich in flavor and texture, thanks to the preponderance of Semillon in the blend, the 2016 Château Ducasse Graves Blanc underscores the charm of Bordeaux’s most revered white wine. With Semillon the leading player and Sauvignon Blanc playing a strong supporting role, the 2016 Château Ducasse Graves Blanc captures the inherent beauty of white Graves: delicacy, minerality, and light, refreshing fruit flavors reminiscent of honeydew melon and pomelo. In true Graves fashion, the 2016 Château Ducasse Graves Blanc drinks well now but will continue to improve in bottle for several more years.

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Collectors Series is proud to offer three exceptional wines again in May, beginning with the 2015 Losada Altos de Losada Bierzo Mencia. Thanks to ideal weather in 2015 and Amancio Fernández’s deft hand, the 2015 Losada Altos de Losada Bierzo Mencia ranks as another great success from this superb property. The 2015 Altos de Losada offers a deep purple robe and an alluring set of aromatics. Savory notes of blueberry, black cherry, purple plum, and Asian spices caress the nose and grace the palate. Bold but balanced, Amancio Fernández’s 2015 Mencia offers lush flavors, profound depth, and true elegance from the first sip until the last. The wine’s pure, concentrated fruit flavors seem to sink into the very marrow of this wine, while intriguing spice tones and a subtle minerality are carried gracefully by the wine’s fine grained tannins. Although deceptively drinkable now, the 2015 Losada Altos de Losada is capable of improving in bottle for a decade or more. The recipient of many well-deserved 90+ ratings from James Suckling, Wine Advocate, and Wine Enthusiast among others, the 2015 Losada Altos de Losada deserves a special place at table as well as in the cellar.

Our next May Collectors Series offering, the 2015 Morgan Highlands Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay, is a focused, elegant wine that combines the finest attributes of New and Old World winemaking, or as one panel member quipped, “Morgan has put the best of Burgundy and California all in the same glass.” The 2015 Highlands Chardonnay includes 67% fruit from the Double L Vineyard and the balance from outstanding neighboring estates in the Santa Lucia Highlands, including McIntyre and Tondre. It offers a heady aroma of ripe apple fruit, buttered brioche and lemon curd to caress the nose. And in the mouth, the wine’s ripe pure fruit flavors are enhanced by buttery caramel flavors, a touch of ginger, and a racy minerality that provides balance and focus.

Completing this month’s Collectors Series is the rare 2012 Pasanau Finca La Planeta from the serious, warm-hearted Albert Pasanau. Pasanau has fashioned an exceptional and complex Priorat in his 2012 Finca La Planeta, a wine that has earned 94 Points from Wine Enthusiast. Exhibiting a deep, nearly impenetrable color from predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2012 Pasanau Finca La Planeta appears at first glance to be more like young classified Bordeaux than typical Priorat. Adding to the intrigue is the wine’s bouquet, which is more than slightly reminiscent of Château Lafite, with deep, brooding black fruit flavors and hints of graphite. In true Pasanau fashion and not unlike great Bordeaux, the 2012 Finca La Planeta is bold and beautiful, yet a bit reticent upon first emerging from the bottle. Afford it time to breathe and the wine’s deep berry, spicy plum, graphite, thyme, and crushed black pepper flavors will come front and center, unfolding slowly, almost imperceptibly, to fill the mouth with seductive notes. Full-bodied, intense, and endowed with an iron core, Finca La Planeta is a combination of Bordeaux hauteur and Spanish warmth, a wine that will drink well now through 2025.

The Varietal Connection: Who’s on First, What’s on Second

April 20, 2018 by Don Lahey

If we were playing the old Abbot and Costello routine, Chardonnay would be on first, Cabernet on second, and no one would know who’s on third. Why? So many grape varietals, so little time!

Grape varietals are the individual types of grapes that find their way into the world’s wines. There are upwards of four thousand distinct grape varieties in the world, though the vast majority of wines we consume emanate from less than three-dozen of the world’s varietals from the species Vitis vinifera. Some of the world’s varietal names are easily recognizable like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, for example, while others are literally unknown to average consumers and serious tasters alike, names such as Bobal, Nosiola, Pais, Prieto Picudo, and thousands more.

In the New World, wines are often bottled under the name of their primary grape variety (a minimum of 75% of one grape variety must be present for varietal bottling in the United States, while most of the rest of the wine producing world requires 80% of a wine to be of a single varietal to be so labeled). Proprietary names are often used in the New World for blends that do not contain the minimum percentage of a single variety. In Europe, the finest wines are often blends of various grapes and are known primarily by geographic appellation rather than by their primary varietal (although this is changing; more and more French and Italian wines from less celebrated wine producing regions are being bottled with varietal names). As in the United States, other non-European wine countries like Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa bottle most wines under a varietal name, even sometimes by grape combinations such as Cabernet-Shiraz.

Whether a wine graces our table as a varietal or a generic offering (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chianti, Rioja, etc. are generic wines, as they are known by their place of origin rather than any grape variety) it should offer enjoyment and reflect in some way its place of origin. As for me, I am still trying to taste all four thousand or more of the world’s grape varieties, and then there are the thousands of distinct generic offerings from which to choose. So many wines, so very little time!

Salud!
Don

Zinfandel

March 16, 2018 by Don Lahey

Although its DNA points to Eastern Europe’s Primitivo grape as its ancestor and its New World appearance still remains under investigation, Zinfandel has been dubbed “America’s own grape variety.” In California, Zinfandel produces a wine quite different from its Croatian and Italian forebearers, and nowhere is that more apparent and welcome than in Sonoma County – the spiritual home of Zinfandel. In Dry Creek Valley and along the banks of Sonoma County’s Russian River, Zinfandel relishes the cooling Pacific breezes that funnel up the appellations’ canyons and valleys as its fruit basks in the long, dry summer afternoons, which not surprisingly bring the grape to the pinnacle of perfection. Zinfandel’s deep, rich colors, intense berry, bramble, and herb flavors, high alcohol, and lush tannins result in wines that fill the mouth and satisfy all of the senses.

One of Zinfandel’s keys to success is its extraordinary lifespan, which enables it to produce quality fruit well into old age. In fact, the oldest Zinfandel vineyards (many in California are in excess of 100 years of age) are the most prized. Zinfandel can be quite versatile, too (think White Zinfandel as well as many of California’s most celebrated and intense red wines). As an immigrant to our shores, Zinfandel embodies the American experience. It is a grape that has transformed itself over the last century and a half and honed its own unique identity. In the eyes of many, Zinfandel has become a bigger, better, more complex grape since its arrival in America with “a can-do attitude” and a unique identity all of its own.

Since the late 19^th century Zinfandel has enjoyed a favorable reputation among California’s leading Italian immigrant population and numerous Italian-American winemaking families who valued its rich flavors, strength, and vigor. Names such as Pedroncelli, Martinelli and Seghesio became nearly synonymous with Zinfandel and these wineries still enjoy iconic status as purveyors of America’s unique grape variety.

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