1992 Domaine de L'Hortus Cuvee Classique, Coteaux du Languedoc

Another treasure from the Beaune vault.

Bright garnet with just a touch of orange. Immediately upon hitting the glass, the distinctive aroma of black perigord truffles wafted upward into my nose along with a touch of white pepper, and stewed cranberry sauce. There is definitely a touch of garrigue in the nose as well.

In the mouth the L'Hortus is soft and velvety, still with punchy acidity and tannins that although present, are resolved and integrated into the wine. Flavors of black truffles, cranberry, soy sauce and spiced smokey meat. Still lots of life in this wine!

I don't know the exact cepage of this cuvee but it is definitely Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. The Mourvedre I would know anywhere as this is the grape that gives the typical aroma and flavor of black truffles. Fermented and aged in stainless steel, this wine proves that oak is not needed to make great, flavorful reds. Alcohol is 12.5%. Certainly a thing of the past.

L'Hortus is located in the Pic St. Loup area of the Languedoc and it is one of the most stunning places in the world to grow grapes and make wine. You can go here if you want to learn more about the winery and see pictures.

http://www.beauneimports.com/retail/producer_detail.php?producer_id=32&from=producers

A humble wine that usually sells for less than $15 at retail, the current vintage is 2007 and it is stellar as well.

Pollerhof 2008 "Frau Mayer" Gruner Veltliner

This is an ode to the Frau Mayer, who owned and farmed the vineyard that provides the grapes for this wine. She worked out in the fields all day and farmed her little plot of land the best she could, tending to each vine, making sure that they were in the best condition to produce these stellar grapes. In winter and in summer, she was always out in the vineyards. When she passed away recently, Erwin Poller decided to make a wine from her single vineyard and name it after her. The label is from wallpaper . . . yes, I said, "wallpaper", that was in her house. So as you can imagine, only a small amount of this wine was made. Vinolok, of course.

Really too young to drink right now, this wine rewards being open for a little bit. I didn't decant it as my buddy Alex and I drank most of it in the backyard under the fading sun but it wouldn't have hurt the wine by any means. Brilliantly clear like all of Pollerhof''s wines, this one is more on the water white with glints of green than hay or straw but that is because of its youth.

In the nose the wine is all white pepper and white flowers, like jasmine or maybe orange blossom, with sweet notes of freshly grated ginger.

In the mouth it is viscous and strong but with a huge amount of acidity to cut the body as it goes to the back of your mouth. Salty, minerally, kind of like sucking on gravel (for those of you into that sort of thing) with a long finish. Flavors of baked apples, ginger ale and fresh sweet peas in the mouth.

It finishes a little hot but is relatively low in alcohol at 13% so I think it is more youth showing through instead of imbalance.

Too bad I don't have any to sell, but those of you up in the Bay Area may be able to find some if you look really hard . . .

I really enjoy all the Pollerhof wines, from the $12 Gruner Veltliner to this wine that would be around $30 retail if available.

Maybe some schnitzel is in order?

1999 Domaine de Fauterie Cotes du Rhone Blanc

So, going old again, I found this gem in my sample box a few weeks ago and seeing that I was having pork chop with a balsamic/caper reduction, I thought this might be the perfect accompaniment. I was right but also wrong.

1999 Domaine de Fauterie Cote du Rhone is 70% Marsanne and 30% Rousanne and as you can see from the picture a nice golden color in the glass (in the decanter it looks more aged and amber than it really is, always appears that way) and it is clear and bright.

The first thing that jumped out at me when I opened it up was the smell of apples and pears that jumped out of the glass. I could smell it from a few feet away. After more in-depth snuffling, I could also smell the waxy lanolin of older white wines, chamomile and white tea and just a touch of jasmine.

In the mouth the wine is full and rich but with bracing acidity so it must have been a monster of acid in its youth and sadly, the wine is pretty short in the finish showing a little hot and harsh even though it is 11 years old. I was surprised at how fresh the wine is and how well it is holding up. The flavors of pears continued in the mouth along with some nutty, slightly Manzanilla di Sanlucar de Barrameda (Sherry) like flavors (salty apples, almost briney).

With the food, the red onion, golden raisin, red swiss chard and pine nuts all sautéed together went well and would the pork chop, but the balsamic/caper sauce kind of overpowered the wine and the saltiness in the wine was amplified by the saltiness of the capers in the sauce. Nice try but no cigar.

Overall, I thought the wine was tasting great and it probably originally only cost what, say $15 at the most or maybe $20 at the outside? A deal by far.

Of course, there is none to be had anymore, but it has been fun to taste a little bit of the past . . .

And how about some older Brouilly while you are at it . . .

So from the largest of the single cru Beaujolais AOC's and what is supposed to be the lightest in style comes this Dominique Piron 1997 Brouilly Chateau du Prieure. At 13 years old, the wine was clear with nice ruby to garnet color at the core and a little brick red at the rim.

The nose was moderately intense with developed aromas of mulled wine, violets and orange peel with just a little white pepper. In the mouth, the wine was surprisingly full and rich with medium alcohol and a roundness in the mouth that was balanced well by some still evident acidity. There are flavors of soy sauce, raspberry jam, smoky meat although the finish was only medium long. Overall, I thought this wine was tasting surprisingly good for the age and for a wine that surely cost $15 back in the day, a steal.

It went really well with the steak we were having that night, grilled with nothing but sea salt and black pepper as seasoning.

The 2007 Piron Brouilly, Domaine de Combiaty (a different vineyard) is available all over Los Angeles and the Bay Area so if you have a yen to taste what the young wine would taste like in comparison, give me a shout and I will point you in the right direction.

A little old Rose` never hurt anyone . . .

So one of the importers I work with has been cleaning out the cellar lately so whenever I get samples from Northern California, thrown into the box is usually one or two older vintages of wines that we currently represent. This time it was Bergerie de l'Hortus 2000 Rose`.

Showing lovely mature aromas of truffled berries and sweet subtle floral notes, the wine was a showing mature, slightly cooked gritty prune flavors in the mouth but also had a nice warmth, roundness and pretty long finish.

I could actually see this faring pretty well in a tasting alongside older Burgundy of minor quality as color could be confused between the two and flavors, although different, were similar enough to create some doubt in the mind.

Overall, pleasant but definitely proved again to me that your Rose` wine should be drunk within a few years of release!

Cheers.

J

Giuseppe Vaira at the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills

Giuseppe pouring wines from behind the counter.

The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills was nice enough to have Giuseppe come in and run through a series of his wines for about 30 people in the store, after hours, paired with various cheeses and meats selected by Tony Princiotta. The wines were a huge hit (except for the little Japanese lady who vomited into her hand after the tasting . . . but we think that was from the cheese!) and everyone loved Giuseppe's warm and relaxed attitude.

The Cheese Store is packed.

The menu for the evening.

Giuseppe talking about Barbera d'Alba.

Me, Tony P, Giuseppe, and Erik Kelley having a good time.

Giuseppe Vaira of G.D. Vajra at Elvino Thursday Night Tasting

We have the pleasure of welcoming back to Elvino Giuseppe Vajra, scion of the famous G.D. Vajra winery of Piemonte, Italy

From Justin Gallen of Rinascimento Wine Company: The estate of GD Vajra (named for its current operator Aldo Vajra's grandfather, Giuseppe Domenico), is situated in Vergne, the highest village in the Commune of Barolo. Its vineyards are planted with Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera at heights of 350-400 meters, which results in distinctive and aromatic wines. The Vajra family is a group of dedicated, passionate winegrowers, who are also grounded and sensitive to the human role in winemaking. Their philosophy remains faithful to the traditional and authentic wines of Piemonte, and in essence they regard themselves as the instruments that enable nature and the environment full self-expression through their wines.

-Organically Grown-

Taste five wines with the winemaker,
and enjoy fresh baked bread, cheeses and charcuterie provided by
Market Gourmet.

6pm to 9pm Thursday, February 4th

$25.00 per person (An Incredible Value!)

2007 Langhe Bianco DOC (Riesling) $45.00

2008 Dolcetto D'Alba DOC $23.00

2006 Langhe Kyè DOC (Freisa) $45.00

2004 Barolo, Bricco Delle Viole DOCG $75.00

2005 Barolo, Bricco Delle Viole DOCG $75.00

No Reservations Required