THE WINE GUY
Fall Wines
This is a continuation of our series of articles- “Wines for the Season”. Previously, we discussed summer wines featuring wines with acidity which would be refreshing on a summer day with light summer fare. In fall and winter food choices tend to include roasted meats and heavier foods. As always the perfect wine is a wine you enjoy with the food you are eating and is an enjoyment to be shared. We will continue to concentrate on a few varietals giving some examples of wines released which show some of the variety of flavors of wines from certain varietals .
Wines that tend to go well with fall and winter foods are generally round or full bodied wines (mellow and balanced on the palate). Some are fruit forward, some mellow and others tannic. These wines are generally red, however, there are several exceptional white wines that can meet these criteria.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The most successful red grapes grown in California are Cabernet Sauvignons. Almost all California Cabernets are dry and vary in style from light to full-bodied. Younger Cabernet Sauvignons tend to be more tannic needing bottle aging. If the label describes the wine as cabernet sauvignon, there must be 75 percent of that wine in the bottle. This means that there can be 24 percent other wines in a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Other grapes are often blended with cabernet sauvignon to increase complexity, mellow the tannins, and for numerous other considerations at the discretion of the wine maker. Example wines:
Dyer Vineyards 2006 Napa, Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon , $95.00
Candied cherry nose with hints of eucalyptus. Big tannins, earthy and black fruit on the palate. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot blend. Staff Tasting
Clark-Claudon 2006 Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $90.00
A tradition continues- Leonard’s Favorite Wine we featured last year is back with a new vintage. Cedar, chocolate, dark fruit, leather, nice tart tannins. Only 350 cases made. Staff Tasting
Elyse 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Mirisoli Vineyard $85.00
Nose of ripe and dried fruit, cherry, Christmas spice, blackberry and violet. A full-bodied wine with tastes of leather, dark fruit, with big tannins.. Staff Tasting
Gabrielle Collection 2008 Juxta Position Napa Cabernet Sauvignon $60.00
75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Syrah. Red plum nose, black current flavors hints of toast. . Aged 20 months in medium toast French oak. Soft elegant tannins. Smoky with lots of juicy berry flavors. Silky smooth. Staff Tasting
Fuse 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $50.00
Red wine with crimson tints with a pleasant dark cherry spice nose. Pungent flavors of pepper, cloves, cinnamon in a dry bodied wine with a long finish. Tobacco notes, black fruit with a chocolate meaty mouthfeel. 25% Syrah, 75% Cabernet Sauvignon. . Staff Tasting
Montes Alpha M 2008 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Apalata Vineyard Chile $35.00
A purple brick red wine from a single vineyard. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, softer tannins, blue fruit, cherry, coffee, chocolate, a soft body. “Yummy”. Staff Tasting
Goyette 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $30.00
Made by winemaker Robert Goyette. A nose of ripe blueberry. Blueberry pie, conditioned leather, vanilla and lilac flavors. Staff Tasting Hyatt 2008 Rattlesnake Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Washington Estate Grown $20.00
Jammy blueberry and black cherry with chocolate notes. A full-bodied wine. . Staff Tasting
Kaiken 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza Argentina $20.00
Bright cherry and raspberry nose. Cherry chocolate soft and bright. Forward fruit with hint of oak. 95% Cabernet Sauvignon 5% Malbec. “Kaiken” is a wild goose from Patagonia. Medium tannins. Staff Tasting
Merlot
Merlot in French means young blackbird probably because of the grape’s beautiful dark-blue color. Merlot Noir is commonly referred to simply as Merlot. Merlot is the primary grape of the famous Pomerol and Saint-Émilion regions of France and one of two major grapes of Bordeaux (the other being Cabernet Sauvignon.). Merlot has long been identified as a blending grape which, when added to Cabernet Sauvignon, produces a wine which is smoother, less tannic and ready to drink. Merlot wines are generally less tannic, rounder and more supple than Cabernet Sauvignon and generally do not age as well as Cabernet Sauvignon. However, this being said, Merlot by itself is the predominate grape for the most expensive and most highly regarded red wine in the world, Château Pétrus, which requires long aging before reaching its potential. Example wines:
Ferrari-Carano 2008 Sonoma Merlot $35.00
Complex with luscious cherry aromas. Spice, black pepper, chocolate and caramel with a silky finish. Staff Tasting
Clos Saint-Vincent 2007 Saint Emilion Grand Cru $65.00
Nose of blackberry, blueberry and smokey notes. Aged 12 months in French oak. Light but full flavored. Silky and elegant texture. Finishes a little tart. We loved this. 60 % merlot. 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc. Staff Tasting
Meritage or blended wine
The wines of Bordeaux are pre-dominately a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot with added varietals – Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenere. This is the Bordeaux Blend. In the United States a wine that does not have a sufficient percentage of a wine to be on the label is called a red table wine. This term didn’t excite the consumer who was spending a considerable sum for the wine. A number of wine makers held a contest to name a California wine that was a Bordeaux Blend. The winning name was “Meritage.” This term rhymes with heritage. Not all blends are called Meritage, as there is a substantial fee for a winery to join the Meritage Association. Example wines:
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Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006 Columbia Crest Meritage$59.00
A vegetal nose of green pepper, cocoa, coffee, thyme and black cherry. Blend of Classic Bordeaux varietals. Berry sweet finish, good solid tannins with a leathery finish. We really liked this.. Staff Tasting
The Sum, The Seventy Five Wine Company, 2008 California Red wine. $ 40.00
Made by our friend Andy Beckstoffer’s son, Tuck, 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Syrah, 10% Syrah. Black cherry, deep bitter chocolate chocolate nose. Dark deep chocolate with raspberry flavors. Staff Tasting
Pinot Noir
Considered one of the most difficult grapes to grow and make into wine, Pinot Noir is the red wine of Burgundy, having been grown there for over 2,000 years. There are two basic Pinot Noir concepts- A California style which is generally bigger and more intense and a Burgundian style which includes most of Oregon’s Pinot Noirs – softer and more complex,.
Seri Wines 2007 Mendocino Ridge Pinot Noir $32.00
A nose of spicy, black cherry and tobacco. Fresh on the palate with smoky and floral notes. A big wine with good medium tannins. Staff Tasting ..
Saintsbury 2007 Stanly Ranch Carneros Pinot Noir $55.00
A full bodied wine with dark fruit – blueberry- character made from mostly Pommard and Dijon clones. This wine displays a smoky plum nose with notes of dried herbs and a plump mid-palate of dark cherries and blackberries. It posses a long, rich finish with good acid structure and fine tannins. Tasting
Stoller 2007 JV Estate Pinot Noir Dundee Hills, Oregon $30.00
Cherry and jammy berry with notes of leather and spice. Balanced.
Belle Glos 2009 Las Alturas Vineyard Monterey County Pinot Noir $65.00
Dark cherry, blackberry and other dark fruits. Tannic and some heat on the dusty finish . Staff Tasting
Sequanna 2008 Pinot Noir Green Valley of Russian River Sundawg Ridge Vineyard $79.00
Big oak, toasty, caramel. A big mouthfeel with a beginning sweetish start ending in a slightly tart finish with tea and toast notes. Made in 100% French oak with 35 of the barrels being new oak. A difficult to find wine. Staff Tasting
Zinfandel
This grape is considered California’s red-wine Grape. It is not grown widely in other parts of the world. The origins of the grape are disputed. The initial vines were brought to California by Agoston Haraszthy who has been called the father of California Wine. The origin is believed to be from the Italian Primitivo grown in the Puglia region. Although Zinfandel gained some notoriety with the production of White Zinfandel (a beginner cool-aide wine which we do not stock), the Red Zinfandel can produce robust reds with berrylike, spicy flavors with plenty of tannins and the depth, complexity and longevity to compare with Cabernet Sauvignon.
Malbec
A French red wine grape grown in Bordeaux as a blending grape for the Bordeaux Blend. It has been planted and adapted well in Argentina.
Pascual Toso Reserve 2008 Mendoza Argentina Malbec $35.00
Flashy, Ruby colored wine with fig, raspberry ganache, licorice and mocha notes weaving through a fleshy, rounded palate. The long finish lets the fruit pump through. Drink now. 15,000 cases imported. 100% oak aged in French and American Barrels. Black fruit, mocha and cocoa flavors. Bold and deep. 80 year old vines. Staff Tasting
Norton 2007 Privada, Mandoza Argentina. $35.00
40% Malbec, 30% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark fruit of blackberry, blueberry and raspberry. A toasty wine with medium tannins. Staff Tasting
Keep a wine journal to record wines you like. Ask your wine purveyor or wine shop friends for recommendations. A few local wine shops sponsor tastings that provide an opportunity to taste a number of wines. Or visit a restaurant that offers wine tasting flights and discover wines you like. We have wine tasting in the day and offer wine dinners nightly.
Lastly drink a full glass of water for every glass of wine you consume. You will thank me for that tip the morning after.
Enjoy your Fall.
The Wine Guy, Leonard Logan, a wine judge and lecturer is the proprietor of Elizabeth’s Café in Duck. His blog, The Wine Guy, is available at Elizabethcafe.com send questions and comments to elizcafe@charter.net.
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Leonard Logan's passion for wine, love of good food, and knack for entertaining has garnered him a reputation on both a local and national level. As the owner of a restaurant that has won countless awards-from "The Best Fine Dining Wine Restaurant in the United States" (Santé Magazine, 2003) to "The Award of Ultimate Distinction" (The Wine Enthusiast, 2004 and 2005) - Logan has been honing his craft since his college days at Duke University as an amateur caterer for football games and college parties. |
Tags: 2008 California Red Wine, Cabermet Sauvignon, Clark- Claudon 2006 Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Clos Saint-Vincent 2007 Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Dyer Vineyards Napa Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon, Elyse 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Minisoli Vineyard, Fuse Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Gabrielle Collection 2008 Juxta Position Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Goyette 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Hyatt Rattlesnake Hills Washington Cabernet Sauvignon, Kaiken 2008 Mendoza Argentina Cabernet Sauvignon, Montes Alpha M 2008 Reserve Apalata Vineyard Chile Cabernet Sauvignon, Saintsbury 2007 Stanly Raanch Carneros Pinot Noir, Seri Wines 2007 Mendocino Ridge Pinot Noir, The Seventy Five Wine Company, The Sum, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006 Columbia Crest Meritage
About the author
Leonard Logan's passion for wine, love of good food, and knack for entertaining has garnered him a reputation on both a local and national level. As the owner of a restaurant that has won countless awards-from "The Best Fine Dining Wine Restaurant in the United States" (Santé Magazine, 2003) to "The Award of Ultimate Distinction" (The Wine Enthusiast, 2004 and 2005) - Logan has been honing his craft since his college days at Duke University as an amateur caterer for football games and college parties.