Spending Time with some "Old" Friends

I used to really like Zinfandel, once upon a time. In fact, there would occasionally be a bottle I would love. I can't say that it was ever my favorite variety, but there was much to admire about this gutsy wine.

Trouble was, Zinfandel became pretty boring to me. I'm sure some of this had to do with me moving towards Italian wines, which in most cases offer higher acidity, red or white. But it also had to do with the prevailing winds in California during the 1990s and even to this day, to some degree. This big wine became a bear, often wild and untamed in its approach. Alcohol levels, which were high to start with - simply became unacceptable as far as serving this wine at the dinner table. Yes, proper ripeness for a Zinfandel in warm climes in California - 15% and 15% were standard - soon inched up to 16%, 16.5%, even 17% in some cases, as new strains of yeast had been developed to make this possible. Clearly, bigger is better was the mantra for Zinfandel (and a lot of Cabernet Sauvignons, but that's a story for another day); of course, as these higher alcohol wines were flashier and often resulted in higher scores from a few influential wine magazines, it because a situation of follow the leader. Well, I stopped following.


So how nice to report that not every producer of Zinfandel in California went that way. Last week, I tasted two new releases from Dry Creek Vineyards in Healdsburg, in the heart of Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley. The two wines were the 2011 Heritage Vines Zinfandel (Sonoma County) and the 2011 Old Vines Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley). The common theme in these wines were older vines and not percentage of alcohol or intensity; clearly the Dry Creek Vineyard folks have their priorities straight.

The Heritage Clone story is a marvelous one, in that winery owner David Stare (he founded DCV in 1972 when Dry Creek Valley was little more than prune orchards and a few family farms) grafted old-vine budwood onto new rootstock, thus giving new plantings the foundation or "heritage" of classic old vine Zinfandel. The first vintage of this Heritage Clone Zinfandel was 1997; the wine is now known as Heritage Vines Zinfandel.

My tasting notes describe perfumes of raspberry, black cherry, tar and anise - classic stuff! Medium-full on the palate, the tannins are medium-weight (thank you!) and the oak is well integrated (thank you again!). The wine has very nice varietal character and impressive balance; as you drink this, you don't get the idea that you're being hit over the head. No, this is about pleasure and what a nice food wine this is, be it pastas with marinara or bolognese sauce, grilled ribs or even pizza. By the way, this wine tasted even better the second and even the third night. At a suggested retail price of $19, this is an excellent value.


As for the Old Vines Zinfandel from 2011, the front label has text that reads "Vine Age - 90 years plus." I think it's great that it's right there upfront for the consumer to see and I like the fact that the principals at the winery - first Dave Stare and now his daughter Kim and son-in-law Don Wallace - have always tried to emphasize the "old" in old vine. This term is not legally defined in California, so old, as far as vine age, is whatever the winery chooses to call it. Stare was always pushing for a definition of this - he wants old vines to refer to plantings that are at least 50 years of age - and anyone who's tasted a Zinfandel made from vines that are at least a half of a century old knows the character that age can bring to the wine.

The 2011 Old Vines Zin (83% Zinfandel and 17% Petite Sirah, basically the same blend as in the Heritage Vines Zin) has aromas of blackberry, prune (typical of very old vines) and purple iris. Medium-full, this has an elegant finish with medium-weight tannins and balanced acidity. This is a wine of restraint - notice a theme here for Dry Creek Vineyard Zinfandels? - and again, a lovely wine for food (pork roast would be ideal); enjoy this over the next 5-7 years. This is a more limited production, as you might imagine, so the price is higher (the yield is an incredibly small 1-2 tons per acre!), but at $30, you're getting your money's worth as far as quality and you're drinking history!


Keep up the good work at Dry Creek Vineyards, everyone! We need more refined Zinfandels such as these!


Note: One final story. I go back quite a few years with Dave Stare, meeting him in the mid-1980s in Chicago at a distributor where I sold his wines. I always liked Dave's slightly irreverent style, as he never took himself too seriously and often drew attention away from himself, directing it to his wines or his team at Dry Creek that helped him craft these products.

One of my favorite memories of him (and for many of us in the wine business in the 1980s) was a television commercial Dave did for Augsburger beer, a wonderful Midwestern brew (sadly, no more) made in a classic pilsener style. I don't recall all the details, but in the ad, he was introduced and asked to speak about the beer in wine terms. He held up a glass, inhaled the aromas and declared, "Hops dominate the nose." Great stuff and pure Dave Stare!

Eataly Comes to Chicago

Eataly, the one-of-a-kind market about all things Italian has arrived in Chicago! This store, which gives consumers a chance to purchase the finest Italian wines, cheeses, oils and many other specialty foods, was the vision of Oscar Farinetti, who opened the first Eataly in Torino in 2007; there are now ten in Italy, including one in Rome, Bari, Milan and Bologna. There are 13 in Japan, even one in Turkey and Dubai. New York City was home to the first Eataly in America and as of December 2, Chicago is now the second.

This new store is huge, some 63,000 square feet, which is more than 10,000 square feet larger than New York. The wine selection is great, as you would imagine with a great cross section of Italian wines, from Prosecco - and several other lesser known Italian sparkling wines - to famous reds such as Barolo and Brunello along with many excellent reds and whites from Campania, Lazio, Abruzzo and vitually every region in Italy.

There's also a wine bar, but if you prefer beer, La Birreria has dozens of artisanal brews available, Italian and American. Of course, there are also several eateries in the store, ranging from La Pizza, Il Pesce (fish), La Carne (meat) and Il Gelato (I love them all, but especially this last one!)

And if you're like me and adore artisanal cheeses, this is the store for you. I've never seen such a great array of Italian cheeses - be they famous such as Grana Padano or more of a hidden gem such as Toma from Piemonte (the Toma D.O.P that I purchased was great!) - and there are also many excellent examples from American cheese makers as well.


So whether you want to just have an espresso or pizza or you want to purchase some incredible meat, seafood, pasta, cheese, wine, beer, biscotti, etc, etc, etc, Eataly is highly recommended. Get in there!

Joseph Bastianich, partner, Eataly (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Amazlng Alsatians - My Dinner with Gustave

I absolutely love the wines of Alsace and believe that this is the finest collection of white wines in the world; taking into mind the whites from Burgundy as well as Friuli, Alto Adige and Campania in Italy, that's a strong statement, but one in which I'm convinced. Add to that the marvelous array of wines, from Pinot Gris to Riesling to Gewurztraminer as well as a few others (including one red, Pinot Noir) and you've got a collection of wines that can pair up beautifully with a wide range of foodstuffs.

Recently, I tasted through the wines of Gustave Lorentz, an excellent producer situated in Bergheim near the foothills of the Vosges Mountains. The family has been producing wine there since 1836 and today is managed by Georges Lorentz, sixth-generation vintner. They own a total of 85 acres of vineyards of which 34 are Grand Cru, with four at Kanzlerberg and thirty at Altenberg de Bergheim. In 2012, their vineyards were certified organic by Ecocert.

I've tasted a few entry level "reserve" wines from Lorentz over the years - quite often the Pinot Blanc- and have been very happy with the overall balance as well as the typicity of the products. They represent Alsace well and they're also fine values, with the Pinot Blanc coming in around $16 a bottle (sometimes even less).

I recently tasted through six of the current Gustave Lorentz wines at two dinners: one with Thai food - I find that Alsatian wines and Thai food are a match made in heaven - and then with the traditional Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings. The opening wine was the Cremant d'Alsace, which is a unique sparkling wine from Alsace. This is made according to the methode champenoise system; the wine is under less pressure than a traditional Champagne, hence the name cremant, translated as "creaming." The Lorentz version is a blend of 1/3 each Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir and is a delight. My tasting notes are as follows:

"Delicate yellow, fine perlage; aromas of golden apple peel and a hint of lemon custard. Medium-full with very good concentration. Nicely balanced, very good acidity and very good persistence. Well made, this is a very flavorful cremant that is quite dry; it is also one of the nicest I've had in some time. Enjoy over the next 2-3 years."

I enjoyed this with turkey and the Thai food; it worked well with both, as the acidity and cleanliness of this wine cut through the spice of these foods. The suggested retail is $25.


Lorentz also produces a very nice rosé, made entirely from Pinot Noir. This has a beautiful strawberry color with fresh watermelon and strawberry fruit, very good acidity and impressive depth of fruit. This is quite dry and nicely balanced. It also worked well with turkey (with gravy) and an array of Thai dishes. The suggested retail is $16.

Three other wines that are of excellent quality are the 2011 Gewurztraminer "Reserve", the 2007 Pinot Gris "Schofweg" and the 2008 Riesling "Burg". Gewurztraminer is a specialty in Alsace and it's always been a favorite of mine; this 2011 from Lorentz with its exotic lychee, pineapple and lemon tea aromas and dry finish is first-rate and a wonderful partner for all of the foods I've mentioned in this post. Enjoy this over the next 2-3 years; suggested retail of $25, which is quite fair.

The 2007 Pinot Gris from a single vineyard (an extension of Altenberg) offers inviting flavors and aromas of red apple and oragne peel backed by impressive depth of fruit and a lightly spicy finish; this was especially nice with Thai curry. This has the concentration to drink well for another 5-7 years; this is a delightful wine with a suggested retail of $30.

The 2008 Riesling "Burg," also from a single vineyard, is medium-full with lovely aromas of petrol and apricot (classic for this variety); the finish is long and very dry. 2008 was an excellent vintage in Alsace with expressive aromas and very good natural acidity; though not a year that produced the "biggest" wines, 2008 in Alsace yielded wines of beautiful varietal purity and structure. This is superb at present with pork and lighter game and white meats and should drink well for another 3-5 years, though I may be a bit conservative in that estimate. Riesling is certainly a hallmark of any Alsatian producer's portfolio and this is one that the Lorentz family should be proud of; suggested retail is $30.

Finally, let's talk about the 2006 Gewurztraminer from the Altenberg de Bergheim Grand Cru vineyard (depicted in the above map). The Grand Cru appellation in Alsace was certified in 1975 with many of the first vineyards being designated as such in 1983; there are a total of 51 Grand Cru vineyards in Alsace. Altenberg de Bergheim, located a bit north of the town of Colmar in the Haut-Rhin ("Upper Rhine") section of Alsace is considered an exceptional site for Riesling and Gewurztraminer.

The Gustave Lorentz 2006 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim is clearly a wine of great breeding, as you would expect. Light golden yellow with sumptuous aromas of lychee, apricot, mango and white roses - just this description alone makes me want to try this wine! - there is a richness and lushness, even an oiliness on the palate. Full-bodied with outstanding persistence and excellent acidity with ideal ripeness, this is a superb wine; my dining companion at the Thai restaurant (whose name was not Gustave) called this wine a "show stopper" and I heartily agreed. This is so delicious on its own, but it would be a shame to not pair this wine with food; this is perfect with Thai pork or chicken or even duck, while it would show off turkey and lighter game beautifully and would also be ideal with foie gras. This is such a unique wine for so many reasons; it has great complexity and power, yet it is always in balance, while the varietal purity is spectacular. This should drink well for another 7-10 years and the suggested retail price of $50 is quite fair, considering where this wine is from as well as its limited production.


Tasting through a lineup of wines such as these is a great exercise in discovering what the wines of Alsace are all about. Being able to experience such first-class offerings from Gustave Lorentz merely reinforced the marvelous quality of this renowned family producer.


The wines of Gustave Lorentz are imported by Quintessential Wines, Napa, CA.

The Status Quo of Champagne

Jean-Marie Barillère, Co-President, Comité Champagne

(Photo ©Tom Hyland)

A few weeks ago in Chicago, just before the wonderful Champagne tasting hosted by the Comité Champagne (read my post here), I was a guest at a small lunch hosted by this group. The purpose of this lunch was to discuss current trends in Champagne; the featured speakers were Jean-Marie Barillère and Thibaut Le Mailloux of the Comité as well as Sam Heitner of the Champagne Bureau, USA.

The discussion went back and forth and the guests (primarily media) were allowed to ask questions and state their opinions; this was a nice change from the usual approach where one speaker talks and everyone listens. How nice to have a free flow of ideas!

Instead of writing a full recap of the discussion or an essay, I'll list a few facts:

Average annual consumption of Champagne:

In France: 3 bottles - In the US- less than one glass

40%-45% of Champagne sold in the US from October to December

Since 2008, there has been a slight decline in sales. This is due of course to the worldwide economic crisis. Sales were better in 2009 than in 2008.

Lately there has been a decline in sales in France and England, while sales have been steady in Italy. There has been a slight increase in Germany and Scandanavia, while the biggest increase over the past few years has been in Japan, especially with younger women (30s and younger).

The Comité is taking even stronger steps to protect the Champagne name, as they are still upset by inexpensive sparkling wines from California labeled as Champagne. 

There are 15,000 growers in the Champagne district, 4651 grower/producers, 143 cooperative producers and 349 houses. If you purchase more than 5% of your grapes, you are considered a house.

To show you how popular Champagne is, this product represents 30% of France's wine exports, yet Champagne makes up only 4% of the country's vineyards (and .4% of the world's vineyards). I'd say they're doing something right when it comes to marketing and selling Champagne, wouldn't you?

Champagne in Chicago - Magnifique!

Antonie Songy, Champagne Pascal Doquet (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

On Tuesday, October 29, the Comité Champagne (Champagne Bureau) held a tasting in Chicago with 36 Champagne producers pouring three of their finest cuvées for the trade. Well-organized and attended, this was an outstanding tasting that offered great evidence not only of the amazing quality of Champagne but also the marvelous diversity of these products.

As the USA Champagne Bureau noted, this was their first official tasting in Chicago and only the fourth one held in the United States. As I commented to Sam Heitner, director of the Bureau, they need to come back more often! To be able to taste so many superb wines from a mix of famous and lesser-known producers was not only a treat, but also a great educational experience. I can't imagine that the members of the trade that attended this event are not going to come away with a greater appreciation of Champagne; I also have to believe that many of them are also going to purchase several of these wines for their restaurants or retail outlets.

I could write volumes about this event, but for now, I will comment on some of the finest wines I tasted (of course, I didn't taste everything, so I imagine that I missed quite a few other first-rate wines).

Best Blanc de Blancs: Gosset Grand Blanc de Blancs - Hands down, the finest Blanc de Blancs I tasted at this event. One thinks of Blanc de Blancs as a wine of finesse, not power. Yet here was a 100% Chardonnay that was a wine of deep concentration, perfect ripeness and marvelous structure that was among the most full-bodied of the tasting. Lovely now, this will peak in 7-10 years.

Most Distinctive Cuvée: Drappier "Quattuor": This had to be the most distinctive wine at the tasting, if only for the blend of grapes in this wine, 25% each of four white varieties (yes, you read that correctly, four white varieties): Chardonnay, Petit Meslier, Blanc Vrai (Pinot Blanc) and Arbane. (Please read my recent post about varieties in Champagne; while most people believe there are only three approved varieties for Champagne, there are actually seven). 

This "Quattor" is a Blanc de Blancs - interestingly enough, a Blanc de Blancs that is not 100% Chardonnay; believe me, there are not many others! Offering powerful yeasty aromas as well as notes of apple, pear and honey, this is a rich, very complex wine with excellent persistence and beautiful acidity. This will be at its best in 5-7 years; I imagine this would be especially wonderful with lighter game or many veal preparations.

Best Non-Vintage: Pol Roger "White Label", Bollinger "Special Cuvée" and Lamiable Brut Grand Cru:  Like a treasured friend, the Pol Roger "White Label" is something you can count on again and again; the richness and impeccable balance of this wine are striking. Offering tons of flavor, perfect harmony and beautiful finesse, the "Special Cuvée" from Bollinger is underrated, as everyone looks to their more expensive wines, but this is first-rate, with outstanding depth of fruit. The Lamiable offers dried pear and tropical fruit along with a nice plummy character (this is 80% Pinot Noir). It also has a lovely mineral character in the finish. 

Let's Hear it for the Côte des Bars! - While many of the most famous Champagne producers are from the celebrated zones of the Montagne de Reims or the Côte des Blancs, let's not forget that there are some marvelous Champagnes being produced in the Côte des Bars - aka, the Aube - the most southern of the growing zones in Champagnes. The soils are quite different here, often resulting in expressive wines with a distinct earthiness. At this tasting, the wines of Devaux from this zone were quite notable and definitely among the most harmonious that I experienced. In particular the firm's Millésime "D" 2005 was one of the most memorable of the afternoon. A 50/50 Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend that spent seven years on its own yeasts, this has a long, long finish that displays great persistence and distinct minerality. This producer should be better known; given the quality here, perhaps the Côte des Bars should be given more consideration by Champagne lovers.

Best Rosés: Duval-Leroy "Prestige" Premier Cru; Pascal Doquet, Premier Cru; Pierre Paillard "Les Maillerettes"and Lamiable Grand Cru: I love Rosé Champagne so much (what's not to like?), so I'm like a kid in a candy store when there are so many excellent versions of Rosé offered at an event such as this one. Each of these wines has power, ideal ripeness and excellent persistence. While the styles differ - expressive minerality in the Paillard, great depth of fruit in the Duval- Leroy, distinctive flavors in the Doquet and a strong plummy character in the Lamiable, these are all first-rate examples of Rosé Champagne (note: the rosés from Thénoit, Taittinger (Prestige Rosé) and Louis Roderer (2008) were also quite lovely).

Best "Great" Producer that is relatively unknown: I do my best to stay current on the finest houses and growers of Champagne but of course, as there are so many producers, there are always going to be some I don't hear of or have the opportunity to taste their wines. Yet even with all that, I'm amazed that I'd never had the wines of Pierre Paillard from the town of Bouzy, home to some of the finest Pinot Noir vineyards in all of Champagne. Each of the three wines of Paillard poured at this tasting - the Bouzy Grand Cru, the Bouzy Grand Cru 2004 and the Rosé "Les Maillerettes" (mentioned above) are all from Grand Cru vineyards. These wines certainly have the power and complexity you would expect given their notable origins, but these cuvées exceed their distinguished breeding, as they display distinct minerality and are exceptional evidence that terroir can exist in Champagne, a notion often dispelled by many observers. This is an outstanding producer!

Arthur Silvente, Duval-Leroy (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Best Wines: Duval-Leroy "Femme de Champagne" 2000; Phillipponat "Grand Blanc" 2004; Nicolas Feuillatte "Palmes d'Or" 2002 - Again, there were dozens of first-rate wines at this event; however, there were three that stood a level above the rest.

The "Palmes d'Or" from Feuillatte is all about power; while this wine needs a lot of time to display its best, it is already a remarkable offering from the finest vintage of the decade in Champagne. The "Grand Blanc" from Phillipponat is a stellar wine, truly one of the finest Champagnes I have ever tasted. Powerful with outstanding complexity and persistence, this is what a great Champagne is all about and it is certainly one that you recall even days after you taste it.

Finally there is the sheer perfection of the Duval-Leroy "Femme", the firm's tête-de-cuvée. The 2000, a blend of 95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir, was vinified in oak, which gives the wine an added richness on the mid-palate; combined with the tremendous depth of fruit, this results in a flawless wine, one of exceptional power and elegance at the same time; this is a Champagne that is simply unforgettable. Duval-Leroy has become one of my go-to houses for great Champagne; this is certainly one of the finest wine producers in the world.

A big thank you to the Comité Champagne for their skill and hard work in organizing this tasting. Also thanks to the producers that participated and shared their wines and knowledge and finally, thank you also to my friends who attended this event and shared their preferences - many of you alerted me to some great wines I would have otherwise not have tasted. I can't wait until the next Champagne tasting in Chicago - unless I make it to Champagne first!