chardonnay
09/292008 /
The grape: Grenache
What it tastes like: It tastes like what I imagine blood would taste like if I were a vampire whose victim has eaten a lot of plums and licorice.
What to serve it with: Phil Collins greatest hits (trust me on this). Gnocchi with chicken, sage, carmelized onions and truffle essence
Say this and sound smart: Grenache is the dominant variety in most Southern Rhône wines.
The price: $28
Imbiber rating: 91
The blend: 51 percent pinto noir; 49 percent chardonnay
Why you should buy it: Cuz it’s some damn tasty Champagne. The chardonnay grapes are from the Côte des Blancs. The pinot noir is grown in Montagne de Reims. A blend of 15 prestigious crus, aged six years.
What it tastes like: It’s creamy and has a little baked apple thing going on. It’s very well-rounded.
What to serve it with: crab soufflé… or frozen pizza in a pinch
Say this and sound smart: La Montagne de Reims est un ensemble géographique boisé, situé entre Reims et Epernay et bordé au nord, au sud et à l'est par des coteaux de vignes.
The price: $95
Imbiber rating: 90
Why you should buy it: Felton Road may very well be the best wine producer in all of New Zealand. No shit! They made “Lord of the Rings” AND “Whale Rider” there – it’s, like, the greatest country in the world. Sure, it’s more popularly known for its pinot noir, but as this bottle proves, the chardonnay kicks serious ass as well.
What it tastes like: You’ll instantly pick up the melon, and that’ll be followed by tart citrus. Then you’ll note the light oakiness and truly breathtaking balance…seriously, that’s exactly how things will go down on your palette. Oh, and Frodo lives!
What to serve it with: It doesn’t matter. I’d pour this stuff over corn flakes and be happier than a Maori princess watching the All Blacks dance the haka.
Say this and sound smart: Central Otago is the most southerly wine-producing region in the world.
The price: $35
Imbiber rating: We love this magnificent vino specimen to the tune of 92 pointskees.
Felton Road 2007 Pinot Noir Central Otago
Why you should buy it: This is, undoubtedly, some of the finest pinot noir this scribe has ever tasted. Indeed, 2007 is considered to be a subpar year for wine from Central Otago, but Felton Road pulled off a miracle.
What it tastes like: Perfectly balanced, fruit forward (but not a fruit bomb) with some Snickers bar action. This wine has SPINE!
What to serve it with: Mushroom risotto, preferably prepared by the chef at Comme Ca in LA. To die for, really.
Say this and sound smart: All of Felton Road’s vineyards are managed organically and biodynamically
The price: $45
Imbiber rating: 95
J Pinot Noir Nicole’s Vineyard 2006
Why you should buy it: J’s legendary winemaker George Bursick is a slave to fashion, and in fact may very well be the most stylish man in all of Healdsburg. His designer duds cost major bucks, so by buying his wine you’re helping to sustain haute couture alive in style-challenged Sonoma County!
What it tastes like: Pure elegance. I suspect it’ll only get more refined after a few years in the bottle, but it’s ready to drink now.
What to serve it with: Liberty Farm duck in a red wine barley sauce
Say this and sound smart: Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.
The price: $65
Imbiber rating: 91
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04/012008 /
The varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Why you should buy it: It’s about as Burgundian a California wine as you’re likely to encounter. The combination of an uncommonly cool growing season and some nifty tricks with malolactic fermentation resulted in a very crisp wine that is high in acidity.
What it tastes like: Tropical fruits, butter, lemon, a little vanilla…there’s lots of stuff going in there, baby!
What to serve it with: How about some grapes? Or is that just plain mean?
Say this and sound smart: The barrels this wine was stored in were stirred by hand three times a week to enrich the wine with viscous manoproteins and polysaccharides released from the fermentation lees.
The price: $25
Ghost Pines Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
The blend: 80% cabernet sauvignon, 7% syrah,4% petite verdot, 4% malbec, 4% merlot
Why you should buy it: This new venture sources fruit from vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Counties … plus, did you see all those varietals in the blend – these guys are WORKING IT!
What it tastes like: If blueberry pancakes smothered in Aunt Jemima syrup were a wine instead of a delicious breakfast dish, it would taste like this. The Ghost Pines cab is a big fat dense beefy red that you can totally jam out to. Jam? Get it?
What to serve it with: Beef. It’s what’s for dinner.
Say this and sound smart: A Ghost, or Grey Pine, is a tree indigenous to Northern California.
The price: $23
02/242008 /
The blend: 91% cabernet sauvignon, 6% cabernet franc, 3% merlot
Why you should buy it: ’05 was a good year for cabs in Napa…but you knew that already, didn’t you?
What it tastes like: I detected apricot, oak and Nestle’s Crunch, seasoned with a little pepper. Very, very smooth finish. Quite an easy-drinking wine now, sure to grow in complexity over the next 10 years
What to serve it with: Braised beef short ribs, pork tenderloin, sausage gumbo
Say this and sound smart: Gumbos can be broadly divided into three categories: those thickened with okra, those thickened with filé powder, and those thickened exclusively with roux.
The price: $35
Website: www.raymondvineyards.com
The blend: 100% chardonnay
Why you should buy it: What’s with all the stupid questions? It’s good chardonnay, for chrissakes… buy it already!
What it tastes like: Ever suck on a honeysuckle blossom immediately after drinking a vanilla soda? Well, it tastes kinda like that.
What to serve it with: Quiche Lorraine, Quiche Sylvia or Quiche Miriam. Whatever you do, though, DO NOT serve it with Quiche Barbara… way too salty.
Say this and sound smart: Napa was one of the original counties of California, which was granted statehood in 1849.
The price: $20
Website: www.raymondvineyards.com
Hanzell (but no Gretel)
09/132007 /
05/172007 /
By Dan Dunn
Is Long Island poised to become the Napa Valley of the eastern seaboard? Nearly 30 wineries will be making their case on May 16th at “Brooklyn Uncorked,” a trade/consumer showcase of the best wines from this bourgeoning viticultural region. The Imbiber is unable to attend because, on the recommendation of my spiritual advisor/bookie, I’m headed to a secluded spa in Belize to have my soul cleansed by a Mayan high priest. Here’s a bullet-point compendium of some of Long Island’s best bets:
Channing Daughters Scuttlehole Chardonnay 2006 ($15, Bridgehampton, NY) — Fantastic value; fresh green apple flavor; there was no malolactic fermentation, and as a result the flavor is quite crisp; a delightful young cool-climate Chardonnay that pairs nicely with seafood and gourmet cheeses.
Wölffer Reserve Chardonnay 2003 ($18, Sagaponack, NY) — Highlighted by hints of caramel, butter and toasted almonds; long finish; classically composed Chardonnay that’s got some sass to it.
Bedell “Taste Red” 2005 ($30, Cutchogue, NY) — The Scarlett Johansson of red wines: sexy as hell and a little wild, but also goes great with a Woody Allen movie; an intriguing blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah from one of the North Fork’s premier wineries.
Macari Bergen Road Meritage 2002 ($30, Mattituck, NY) — Spicy, medium-bodied; you’ll taste plums and black cherries as the wine blossoms inside your mouth; tasted this with four friends/wine snobs, all of whom rated it an eight or higher on a scale of one to ten.
Paumanok Assemblage 2004 ($36, Aquebogue, NY) — Oh, my, what a bottle! A delicate balance of black and blueberries, mingled with savoury spice; this wine has yet to come into its own – cellar it for a few years, and then the sky’s the limit.
Palmer Cabernet Franc 2004 ($19, Aquebogue, NY) — Minty off the bat, then comes a hint of pepper – fairly common for this varietal in cooler climates; soft tannins; ready to drink now… so what are you waiting for?
Vineyard 48 Reserve Chardonnay 2005 ($30) — Tastes like a sour apple sucker dipped in vanilla ice cream.
For more on the “Brooklyn Uncorked” event, log on to http://www.ediblebrooklyn.net.
Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay 2003
11/022006 /
The taste: Tasting reveals layer upon layer of flavors ranging from butterscotch to citrus to roasted almonds to peaches. Can’t recommend highly enough.
Quite a pair: Go Pete Brady with this – pork chops and apple sauce.
Say this and sound smart: “Robert Parker called this one of California’s finest, longest-lived Chardonnays. And Ray Parker Jr. sang ‘Ghostbusters.’”
The damáge: Half a hundo.
