ExLibris
2006
13.5% alc.
Columbia Valley, WA
Château la Grolet
Tête de Cuvée
2002
13% alc.
Côtes de Bourg, Fr.
Americans looking for fine red wine often look to California’s cabernet sauvignon. After California, the largest producer of the grape is Washington State. This enormous viticultural region, with its continental climate, lies latitudinally slightly to the north of Bordeaux, which produces of course cabernet sauvignon par excellence. As a cabernet sauvignon drinker, I typically look to Bordeaux at any price. Because of cabernet sauvignon’s pedigree and popularity, so many wine regions of the world try to grow it. Polaner Selections created ExLibris from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes sourced mostly from the Champoux and Millbrandt vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley AVA with the ambition of producing a $30 to $40 bottle of cabernet sauvignon for under $20. According to Polaner, the wine is about 87 percent cabernet sauvignon, blended with some syrah and petite verdot, with a touch of cabernet franc and malbec for complexity. The wine is aged for 16 months in French oak.
The 2006 vintage had a dry, rounded, balanced palate with medium plus acidity and soft, supple tannins. There were upfront flavors of earth, leather, coffee, dried fig, black cherries. The length was short. The finish had a slight cherry note. The wine delivered quickly. It more or less struck me as engineered to be flavorful. In sum, eminently drinkable; also utterly forgettable. For the price of the wine, why leave Bordeaux?
For slightly less money, from the same shop where I bought ExLibris, I had a surprising gem of a red Bordeaux. The 2002 Château la Grolet, Tête de Cuvée, is from the right bank’s Côtes de Bourg, an appellation of mostly clay-limestone soil over limestone rock. The wine primarily is from merlot blended with a considerable amount of cabernet sauvignon. The wine comes from grapes collected by hand from selected old vines and aged in new oak. This age-worthy wine initially was tight after opening. But two hours later, I encountered a deliciously dry, medium bodied, supple wine redolent of coffee, vanilla, earth, fig, blackcurrants and dark cherries, underscored by a generous amount of minerality, long length and a chocolate finish. This wine had considerable concentration and a rich mouth feel. At $17, a steal. 11/25/08
Cuvee Carolle
2007
14% alc.
AOC Cotes de Provence, Fr.
If one drives into the small village of Puget-Ville, located off Rte. 97 about 30 miles north of Toulon, he will be greeted by a sign that names itself as “Capital du Bon Vin.” Puget-Ville is in the Golden Triangle of the Cotes de Provence where sea, mountains and sun (let’s not forget fun, although that would make a quadrilateral) meet to create a perfect terroir for viticulture. In the summer the “ponant” wind blows southwest from the mountains to cool the vineyards from the hottest days of the year; in winter, winds from the Mediterranean Sea come from the southeast to inhibit frost in late winter and spring. “Sauveuse,” meaning “savior,”is a devotional name for the spring in the Lower Alps that sustains the domaine in an agricultural area fraught with drought in times past. Today, development poses a greater threat to Provencale viticulture than any drought or pestilence could visit. Dom. de la Sauveuse practices organic grape-growing and controls its yields to about 35 hl per ha. It produces reds from cinsault, mourvedre, grenache, syrah, carignan and cabernet sauvignon. There is one rose and two styles of whites from rolle and ugni blanc grapes.
The white wine I had, the 2007 “Cuvee Carolle,” is 85 percent rolle (better known as vermentino) and 15 percent ugni blanc. It is fermented and aged 5 months in barrels. The color is pale gold with aromas of orange, lavender, flowers and anise. This wine is dry; yet I detected an attractive touch of honied sweetness mid-palate. The crisp acidity gave way to pronounced rounded flavors of stone, pear, lemon and anise with a pleasant viscous mouthfeel and a slight herbal finish. This is a lovely wine, with alcohol so well-integrated that I was surprised to learn it was 14 percent. Presumably, the citizens of Puget-Ville had this wine in mind in considering their town the capital of good wine. Importer: Vintage Trading, Inc. Retail: $18.00. 11/17.
Bossard-Thaud
Vin Mousseux
12% alc.
Le Landreu, France
Most wine drinkers normally don’t see Muscadet, an appellation near the Atlantic on the western edge of the Loire Valley, as a source for sparkling wine, but here’s a nifty inexpensive white sparkler from that place that’s sure to win your guests and pocketbook. This vin mousseux is a dry, crisp, medium-bodied wine blended from folle blanche, melon de bourgogne and chardonnay grapes along with a bit of cabernet franc. Bossard is a well-regarded organic winemaker who applies biodynamic principles to cultivate his vines. He hand-harvests his grapes and uses minimal sulphur dioxide to prevent oxidation. The first run juice from lightly pressed grapes is fermented sur lie using indigenous yeasts. There is a second fermentation in the bottle, where the still wine is left to age on the lees for one year before shipping. This pale straw wine had a consistent stream of fine bubbles, crisp acidity with a light aroma of apples and pear. The palate was well-balanced with upfront fruit flavors and a touch of brininess, leading to a leisurely, slight, apple peel finish. I found the apple notes became more pronounced as the wine opened and peaked. This is a pleasant, unfussy and accessible sparkler, drunk by itself or with food. Distributor: Chartrand Imports. Retail: $17.00. 11/10/08.
L’Opera des Vins
Concerto d’Oniss ’05
Vin de Table
13% alc.
Chahaignes, France
“Concerto d’Oniss” is a pun on the varietal pineau d’aunis, a specialty grape of the Loire Valley. This light, pale, red Coteaux de Loir wine has lively acidity, soft low tannins and pronounced flavors of tobacco, strawberry, anise, orange peel, earth and tar, leaving a slight licorice finish. The natural wine also comes with an attractive petillance that will last through a meal. I was told the wine would evolve over a day or two; but then, it was so delicious, I couldn’t let it sit that long. Its balanced structure lent a surprisingly concentrated savoriness that threaded its way through the palate. An unusually delightful accompaniment to sausage, salmon, ham or cheese, this wine bottle can be forgiven its complicated, fussy label with its musical cleft and arty allusions. Better to leave eccentricity and whimsy to the wine. Importer: Fruit of the Vines, Inc. Retail $19.99. 11/05/08
