this heaven gives me migraine

2003 Mas de Guiot Grenache/Syrah

Region: Costieres de Nimes, Languedoc, France

Composition: 40% Grenache, 60% Syrah

Background: This is another wine from the Costieres de Nimes, also from St. Gilles in Gard. The estate is run by Sylvia and Francois Cornut; Syliva is winemaker and Francois and sons tend to the vines. They seem to be very in touch with the vines they tend to and harvest... they prune a lot to keep yields down and practice individual leaf-pulling to help ripen the grapes when it's needed. They also tend to pick later than their neighbors do, picking grapes based on taste and nothing else. It seems to work pretty well for them, and I idealize their existence (as I sit here in the rain in San Francisco, thinking how it would be to be making wine in France).

It's interesting to think back to the Le Triage and compare/contrast it with this wine, just because they are so different. Winemaking or terroir? Or, weather? Oh, the eternal question.

Notes: A very clear deep purplish ruby in the glass. The nose is violets, minerals, and some leather. It's slightly leathery on the palate, and tannic, but in a soft way.. the tannins are well-blended with the blackberry, licorice, and spice. We had it with some Epoisses de Bourgogne (I know, wrong region, but it is tasty cheese and did well with the wine and we are just crazy like that) and a dinner of sauteed chard, carrots, and beluga lentils with lots of garlic, (over pasta), and it was pretty nice. It was definitely a little softer and fruitier than that Le Triage we recently had (since it is of similar composition and region, even though 2003 was a way better year than 2002), and was a little easier on the palate overall. For ten bucks it is a nice find (and I thought I was totally Rhoned out after the Rhone Rangers on Saturday).

Cost: $10

Overall: B

2001 Torti Bonarda

It's that time of the month again, so here is my Wine Blogging Wednesday 7 entry. This time the challenge was to find an unusual red varietal...no Pinot Noir or Tempranillo or Cabernet Sauvignon or the like. I thought about drinking my Bonny Doon Mourvedre (since I just got it) and then toyed with the idea of Charbono (and ended up having that a few nights ago, figuring I had this Bonarda in my pocket ready for tonight. Oh, how wrong I was). This was one of those cases where I went to the wine store and poked around and asked around and finally came up with the most obscure thing I could that was still deemed tasty by anyone who had had it. I didn't want to relive last WBW.

Well, I tried.

Region: Oltrepo Pavese, Lombardia, Italy

Composition: 100% Bonarda

Background: First off, you are probably wondering, what is Bonarda? Well, that's where it gets confusing, right from the start, since there are three different grapes called "Bonarda" for various reasons:

You can find Bonarda Novarese in DOC reds from the Novara and Vercelli areas of Italy, where it is a minor player. This really isn't Bonarda at all but a grape called Uva Rara, and this grape is more widely grown in the Oltrepo Pavese area.

There is also a grape called Bonarda Piemontese found, as you might guess, in Piemonte. This grape is often blended with Barbera, but isn't produced much anymore since it is a pain to grow usefully and was almost wiped out by phylloxera.

Finally, there is the grape called Bonarda used in the Oltrepo Pavese and Colli Piacentini DOCs in the Lombardia region of Italy (an area a bit to the east of Piemonte). As seems to be the case with Bonarda, it isn't actually Bonarda at all, but is a grape called Croatina. This flavor of Bonarda is also actually the most-planted grape in Argentina, more common than Malbec, even though you see the Argentine Malbec far more often.

In Italy, there are only about 10,000 acres (if that) of Bonarda/Croatina planted. It tends to ripen late and produce fruity wine meant to be drunk young, so it doesn't seem to have too much sex appeal for growers or winemakers.

How can we know that this particular bottle of Torti Bonarda is actually Croatina? Well, the only DOC wines called simply Bonarda come from the Oltrepo Pavese and are made from Croatina. This bottle has DOC labelling and is called Bonarda, so we know it is the Croatina grape. The producer, Torti, was started in 1910 and is now run by a father-daughter team, producing a handful of Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) offerings as well as some frizzante wines along with their Bonarda and Barbera.

Notes: In the bad run of luck I have been having, especially when it comes to WBW wines, the bottle was oxidized (the cork had dried wine leaked out at the top, which is never good news). Nothing much on the nose and an unpleasant flatness when you drank it, and a very unpleasant-in-an-acid-and-thats-it-way finish. Dull dull dull. I don't think it was suppised to be like this, the reviews I read mentioned "Zinfandelesque qualities", "intense fruit aroma" and "bright fruit" and nothing like that was in this bottle. Poor thing. I swear, I am going to start examining corks with a magnifying glass before I buy wine. Even if this wine was a little over the hill, it shouldn't have been like this.

Cost: $15

Overall: I can't say, since the bottle was oxidized (I need to give up trying to rate flawed wines). DNPIM.

I took the bottle back and it was deemed bad, but I did not risk getting another one... I was not feeling lucky and I examined the couple of bottles left and one, at least, seemed damaged to me (it looked like something had leaked out below the seal on the cork). I got a bottle of local-ish Carignane instead, since I don't often like Carignane and want to see how I feel about this stuff. Anyway, I will report on that later on.

2002 Bonny Doon Vineyards DEWN Charbono

Region: Napa Valley, California, US

Composition: 100% Charbono

Background: I was reminded of this wine when I was looking for a WBW7 wine and picked up a bottle of Shypoke Charbono. I thought I might try it, but was warned against it (being told that it probably wasn't the best wine with which to get an introduction to Charbono). Then I remembered that I had two bottles of this at home, and the person who warned me against the Shypoke recommended it, so I thought I would check one out. Plus, I have been on a Bonny Doon rampage of sorts ever since that ill-fated bottle of Freisa (I also have a bottle of rose from them open). I guess I am trying to overcome that bad bottle (it's working). Anyway, this bottle has cracked me up since I got it because it has an amusing label of a grumpy or possibly smug looking fox sitting on a stool on it, surrounded by Japanese characters (another Gary Taxali creation). In true Bonny Doon fashion, the documentation that came with the wine not only references but quotes Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" in a footnote:

Foxy
Foxy
You know you're a cute little heartbreaker
Foxy
You know you're a sweet little lovemaker
Foxy

What's with all the foxy talk? Well, it is widely considered that Charbono has a "foxy" quality, which means wine made from the grape often smells like Concord grape juice, something often found in wines made with vitis labrusca grapes (native North American grapes and the family in which you find Concord grapes) rather than vitis vinifera (European grapes found to make better wine, and the family from which you get Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and all the other big players in the wine world). Charbono is in the vinifera family and is thought to be the same grape as the Italian Dolcetto and the Douce Noir of Savoie. The notes with the wine state that the 2002 Charbono went through several tricks to overcome the issues of a foxy, low-acid wine... a longer cuvaison for more complexity combined with an extra five months in the barrel to overcome the grapey character.

Notes: Dark purple-red in the glass with pink edges. A nose full of berry fruit... red fruit, black fruit, you name it. Under the fruit there is a slight sweet dustiness (fox-ay!)-- it's not overwhelming, but it is pleasantly integrated into the wine. In the mouth this is pretty spicy all around, and has a lot more black fruit along with not much tannin at all (surprising) and a nice level of acidity to handle the fruit (also surprising). There is a slight bitter flavor in the finish, but it isn't overpowering and adds interest. Overall it tastes like what would happen if Zinfandel and Syrah got together and made wine babies (it has a spicy quality but is neither as cloyingly spicy as Zinfandel can be, and not as overpoweringly spicy as Syrah). It's very nice and drinkable, and I think that it is a success as a Charbono since I don't detect a lot of the nasty overwhelming foxiness I remember from Concord grape juice (foxiness to me smells like ecologically correct cleanser or dishwashing soap).

Cost: $18

Overall: B

2001 Bonny Doon Vineyards DEWN Freisa

Region: Monterey, California, US

Composition: 100% Freisa

Background: This is a Bonny Doon DEWN club wine I picked up once I became a member a few years ago, and I admit that I mostly picked it up because I absolutely adore the label. The artist is Gary Taxali, and I love his stuff (I own some non-wine-label pieces). Anyway, I vote this label for being one of the best labels ever. And if you look at the link above, you can see that it references the two very different reactions to Freisa (immensely appetizing or truly repugnant) people seem to have.

What is Freisa? You certainly don't see it like you see some other grapes, but it is an Italian grape native to Piemonte and produces light fruity wines with strawberry-raspberry qualities. You will usually find it lightly carbonated, and it is consumed fairly young, although some producers make wines you can age (for a few years, at least). Bonny Doon has a frizzante version of Freisa offered, but this is their first dry and still offering.

Notes: A very nice dark clear ruby in the glass. Violet and strawberry nose, very girly and pretty in a perfume-y way. Completely different once you get it in your mouth... tannic, leathery, and kind of rustic, with a very strange finish that is practically fishy (olives? tuna?). A very strange tin can flavor reappears on your palate after you think the finish is, um, finished. Too acidic overall and seems out of balance. I could live with a lot of it, but the fishy can part really makes me not like this.

And it breaks my heart because I usually find Bonny Doon wines to be pleasant enough. It also makes me sad that the wine with one of the best labels around is just not very good. I will have to try another dry Freisa sometime to see if I really don't like the grape or if this is just one of those freak things: a bottle of wine I can't appreciate at all. I could have gotten a bum bottle, too... I have another one stashed away somewhere so I will have to dig it out and compare. I can't believe the finish on this wine was anything intended.

Cost: around $15

Overall: D (but I still love you, Bonny Doon! call me!)

2001 Finca Sobreno Tinto Crianza

Region: Toro, Spain

Composition: 100% Tinto de Toro (Tempranillo) - but it could be as little as 75%

Background: Toro is a small but busy region in the Duero Valley area of Spain, located slightly west of Rueda (which is, in turn, slightly west of Ribera del Duero). The Duero river flows through Ribera del Duero, Rueda, and finally Toro before it enters Portugal and pops out to the ocean in the city of Porto. The region has grown quite a bit in the last two decades... in 1998 there were eight bodegas in Toro and two years later there were over three times that many. The local version of the Tempranillo grape is called "Tinto de Toro", and it is the main red grape of the region (the wines produced in this DO must be 75 percent Tinto de Toro).

This wine is labelled "Crianza", which (generally) means it spent three years aging post-harvest and one of those years was in oak. This is the second rung up in the ladder of Spanish wines (you will see these terms often on bottles, so here is a little Spanish wine label primer):

Joven – not required to spend any time aging in casks before release. The wine can see oak, but often doesn't. You don't see many of these in the U.S. and they are not very highly regarded, since they are often made from not-great wine.

Crianza – Crianzas can't be sold until their third year, and must have spent a minimum of six months in oak barriques (in Rioja and Ribera del Duero, the wine must spend 12 months in oak). The wine used is of better quality than the Joven wines, and the result is a lot more pleasing and sophisticated.

Reserva – Riservas have to wait four years post-harvest to be released, and must spend three years aging, one of which must be in oak. Only made when there is a good vintage.

Gran Reserva – These are oldest, and have to wait six years before release. Two of those years must be spent in oak, and another three in a tank or bottle. These are only made when there is an excellent vintage.

All the above apply to red wines... the white wines usually have slightly less stringent oak/aging requirements. And as someone pointed out to me a while ago, these wines are usually pretty inexpensive when you think that you have basically had them aged for you, and haven't had to worry about storing them!

I don't know much about Finca Sobreno, but it looks like they have been around 16 years, which makes them an old-school producer for the region. They made 3,000 cases of this particular wine. Look for it, it has a bright yellow-orange label you can't miss.

Notes: Dark dark dark ruby black in the glass. It has a beautiful nose if you like tobacco leaves and leather mixed in with your black cherry. There's some slight hotness, but it isn't too bad. It's got black fruit and more leather on the palate, with a healthy dose of tannin and dust in the slightly spicy finish. It leaves a lingering tobacco leaf and oregano flavor on the palate. I have another bottle sitting around and I will give it another year to see how it fares. It's a pretty aggressive wine and I think it could easily handle another year or two of aging.

Cost: $12

Overall: B

2002 Chateau Grande Cassagne G.S. "Le Triage"

Region: Costieres de Nimes, Languedoc, France

Composition: About half Grenache, half Syrah (I couldn't find any numbers, but the 2000 was 44 percent Grenache, 56 percent Syrah)

Background: The Languedoc is one of those regions you always hear about as being up-and-coming, and it is a great area to investigate if you are looking for interesting wines that are not very expensive. It is also the largest winegrowing region in the world, with almost 740,000 acres of vines (compare Bordeaux, which has about 280,000 acres) and used to be largely planted with table-quality grapes which produced not very good table wines. But in the last few years/decades, the area has been replanted with better vines, and a lot of the growers are trying to make fine wine. Chateau Grande Cassagne is one such example. In the 1980's Benoît and Laurent Dardé took over their family estate, ripped out and replanted the vineyards, and now bottle all of their wine at the domaine. They've even installed a temperature-controlled winery and cellar, and seem to be very serious about their winemaking.

The estate itself is located a little bit south of Nimes, in the very south of France (somewhat to the west of Marseille), in the Eastern Languedoc. This region is south of the Rhone and the producers often grow Rhone varietals, focusing on light red wines and rosés. The vineyards from which the grapes used in this particular wine come are actually in a sub-region of the Languedoc referred to as Costieres de Nimes, and this area was granted appellation status in the 1980's (after a lot of estate owners lobbied hard to get it granted), changing its name from Costieres du Gard to Costieres de Nimes. It's funny, if you look around, sometimes vendors claim this wine is from the Rhone, an obvious attempt to impress people who don't try to decipher the intricacies of French wine labeling.

Notes: Ruby purple in the glass. Violet and blueberry on the nose, some earth and iodine. Once it's in the mouth it is all about earth, with some black fruit, and it's got a lot of tannin. It has a slightly harsh, chalky, bitter-chocolate finish that softened up a little with some air (and dinner), but never truly impressed me since the finish was pretty curtailed and tarry. Overall, this is a little too rustic for my tastes and not very complex. It might be better in two years... at least a little softer.

Cost: $9

Overall: C

2002 De Toren Diversity Gamma

The Saga: My entry for Wine Blogging Wednesday 6, hosted by Jeanne over at Cook Sister, was hard come by... I originally set out to review the 2001 Rust En Vrede Estate Red (a Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz/Merlot blend) which came highly recommended to me at K&L last Saturday. I picked up a bottle post Champagne-tasting, and figured I would get my entry for a South African red started in advance by opening it that night. Hooray for planning ahead!

Then I opened the bottle.

Things weren't looking good, since the cork was soaked almost all the way through. I know that isn't always a bad sign, so I nervously poured some into a glass to sniff. Bad, bad bad. It smelled oxidized and had no good qualities. It was flat and gamey at best. To make sure (and because I am crazy like that), I took a sip. Worse! Nothing good on the palate, just acrid nastiness. The bottle was bad. I even checked some reviews online and determined that none of the qualities the reviewers mentioned were in that glass. Totally oxidized.

Sunday I took the bottle back to K&L and got a new one. I still had plenty of time. Then I opened that bottle and it was also bad. I started thinking this was not meant to be. I took this second bottle back Tuesday and Mike, who was there, opened another in the store. It was bad, too.

This left us both staring at the small South African selection available and making faces. I figured the Porcupine Ridge Syrah would be okay, but I had it not too long ago and was not really excited at having it again. It isn't bad, but it wasn't really exciting, and I wanted to try something new.

And so I ended up with a wild card. I didn't know anything about this when I got it (well, I remember looking at it in the K&L selection online when I was researching wines, and thinking "maybe that"), other than a silly Wine Spectator review we found in the K&L database that used the term "claret". I decided to take a chance and not hold a dumb review against a possibly good wine. And so I present (at almost 11.30 PM-- so much for planning ahead) the 2002 De Toren Diversity Gamma.

Region: Stellenbosch, South Africa

Composition: 36% Cabernet Franc, 31% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 8% Malbec

Background: This wine is leftovers, and when I think about it like that, it's kind of funny, even though if you are a winery trying to make a profit, you have to do something with those extra grapes, and that means creating more wine (under a second label, or not) or selling it in bulk. De Toren (Dutch for "the tower") is a small winery about 25 miles east of Cape Town, right outside Stellenbosch, and they have had some relative fame in past years for the one and only wine they made, a Cab-based blend called Fusion, which they first produced in 1999.

One year later they looked at the wine left over after choosing the lots for Fusion and wondered how it would taste if they did something with it rather than sell it off in bulk. They declared the resulting wine to be awesome and named it the 2000 Diversity Alpha. Last year they released the 2001 Diversity Beta (sense a theme, here?) and this year brings us the 2002 Diversity Gamma. Diversity Gamma has the lowest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon yet (the wine started out as 100 percent CS in 2000 and dropped to 78 percent in Beta, and is now 15 percent in Gamma) and the wine spent 12 months in 2 and 3 year old French and American oak barrels. The grapes are grown in what De Toren claims is the world's only 100% gravity fed vinification process, which means they don't use any mechanical pumps in the winery, but allow gravity to draw the wine in and out of fermenting tanks and barrels and blend and manipulate it. They use a hoisting tower to aid this (hence "De Toren") and claim that the lack of mechanical pumping traumatizes the grapes less.

Notes: Even though it is a pretty ruby in the glass, this has a really weedy green nose, lots of bell pepper, and a slight musty odor that isn't TCA but something like wet dog (some brett, possibly, although this doesn't smell like the brett I have encountered before). There's also some black cherry, but it is really muted. In the mouth it is a slightly different animal... some more very slight black fruit, starting out muted but then bursting into a liquid smoky finish laced with tobacco. There is some nice acid and soft tannins, but the lingering taste in the mouth is one of ashes, which, although interesting, isn't particularly enjoyable. I did not love this wine and am still thinking there is something wrong with the bottle (not enough to make it undrinkable, but enough to make it off), although Matt liked it.

I have to wonder what it is about the terroir and/or winemaking style in South Africa that involves liquid smoke? I know I haven't had a ton of wines from there, and I am making a horrible generalization by saying it, but a lot of the South African wines I've tried have a smoky smell/taste that reminds me of the juniper tar in Kiehl's Drawing Paste. Anyway, this is something I am going to investigate more (I meant to this week, for WBW, but just haven't had the time yet). I was hoping this wine would be different, but alas, no luck. I am not giving up on South African wines, although maybe I should avoid the leftovers in the future.

Cost: $18

Overall: C

2001 Lenotti "Le Olle" DOCG Bardolino Superiore Classico

Region: Bardolino, Italy

Composition: 65% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon

Background: I love Italian wines, and when I drink them, I always think of fabric (and mostly velvets at that). I love the Italian wines that no one else seems to love, or at least the ones that don't get the attention the Barolos and the Amarones get (not that I would chase those out of my glass). I love the regular old (well, Classico, at least) Valpolicellas and the Bardolinos.

Bardolino is a wine growing region in northeast Italy (about 15 miles west of Verona), squished in between the eastern shore of Lake Garda and the western edge of the Valpolicella region. In the center of the region, right on the shores of the lake, is the actual town of Bardolino, and in that town, you can find Cantine Lenotti.

Lenotti's clay-soil vineyard "La Pra" is right near Lake Garda, and thrives in the microclimate created by the lake. All thee grape varieties in this wine come from that vineyard, and once harvested, most of the grapes are pressed immediately, while 30 percent of them are left out to dry for almost anywhere from two to four months in order to concentrate the flavors and increase sweetness (this process is called appassimento, and many Italian wines go through it, both red and white-- when the resulting wine is left sweet, it is called Recioto, and when fermented to dryness, it is called Amarone). Once dried, the grapes are lightly pressed and the juice is added to the rest of the harvest. In the case of the Le Olle here, the wine-to-be then goes through a weeklong fermentation and is finally aged partially in oak casks, partially in stainless steel.

Recently, some medieval wine jugs were found in this particular vineyard, and were excavated to be put into a museum. So the wine was dubbed "Le Olle", which means "wine jug" in Italian.

Notes: This wine is an intense purple-red in the glass, and looks young. The nose is full of stone and rocks, with some reticent fruit and some nutty warmth. There is a slight hint of raisin; a sort of dried plummy note, which makes sense given the passito production. The flavor echoes the nose, with a hint of black fruit surrounded by savory spice (think thyme and oregano) and more stone, all combined with some nice acid. The finish is the finish Italian wines have that I love... soft, velvety chalkiness with a nice dose of astringent bitterness, like bitter almond.

I am taking a class on wine components right now and the other day we were discussing how different cultures generally like different flavors in wine, and these flavors echo the flavors in the traditional food of the culture. Examples would be the pine resin Greeks favor in retsina, and the sweet fruitiness that the Americans prefer in their wines (Americans love sugar). Italians like many bitter foods (think rapini, arugula, and chinotto), and their wine echoes that. I love that slight bitterness in the finish, especially when it is paired with the velvety tannin. The wine paired wonderfully with my lazy dinner (it was a long day at work) of pasta with tomatoes, red bell pepper, and chard.

I have to wonder what the Cabernet Sauvignon is doing here (it's not the norm; normally the Corvina/Rondinella is blended with something like Molinara or Negara), but it works for me, so I am not questioning it too much.

Cost: $17

Overall: B

2001 Chateau de Montmirail Cuvee de l'Ermite

Region: Vacqueyras, France (AOC)

Composition: 50% Syrah, 50% Grenache

Background: This was a wine we had with dinner, out at Geranium. At the time I didn't know much about the producer but I like wines from Southern Rhone in general (Vacqueyras is a little bit northeast of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and directly south of Gigondas) and that the straight Syrah I was also eyeing on the menu was probably too much for what we were eating. Some investigation shows that the original proprietor, Gabriel Archimbaud, was the first bottler in Vacqueyras, and now the property is run by his daughter, Monique, and her son. They make a handful of AOC Vacqueyras wines as well as an AOC Gigondas and a few general AOC Cotes du Rhones.

Notes: This wine has a nose of rose and dust, with some red berries and some geranium and spice/pepper. In the mouth it starts out soft and strawberrylike, and you can tell the Grenache is in control, but on the finish the Syrah shows a little more (especially as it opens up). The soft tannins echo the dust in the nose. Right on the finish, in with the spice, there is a slight perk of berry, but not so much as to be jarring. Overall, it was pleasant and went well with the food we were having.

Cost: It looks like you can pick this up for a little more than $15 a bottle.

Overall: B

2000 Chateau Le Roc "Don Quichotte"

Region: Cotes du Frontonnais, France (AOC)

Composition: 50% syrah, 50% negrette

Background: I bought this when I was in a French wine buying frenzy, and I am not sure why exactly I bought it (I think it was recommended somewhere or other, or was one of my "hey, it's cheap, why not" purchases). The region of Fronton is interesting in that the vineyards must, by law, be planted with 50% negrette, and the soil is iron-rich which gives a certain character to the grapes. The brothers Ribes took over the 32- acre property in 1988 and have been working ever since to make intense wines... I looked around and they have three or four reds and a rose out there, it seems.

Notes: This looked fairly young in the glass and was a dark pure ruby color. It was very pretty, and the nose (even if a little hot) made some big promises... strawberry, violets, a bit of carnation, and a fair amount of peppery spice was present. However, I was a little disappointed with it once I put it in my mouth. There was some red berry on the palate (that's the negrette talking) but not very much; you needed to hunt for it. Not a lot going on, and it turns out most of the wine was in the finish. The finish (which was very syrah-like) had a pleasant amount of soft, chalky tannins and a fair amount of pepper and gingery hotness, along with some bitter tea flavor. I had my second glass with some food (simple pasta with vegetables and tomato sauce, maybe not the best thing but I was feeling lazy) and things improved a little but the lack of mid-palate excitement left me a little sad.

Cost: I think this was a little less than $15.

Overall: C