Lance's Tasting Notes: The Best of '07

Stimmels' Thursday, December 6 tasting featured only wines from Wine Spectator's prestigious list of the top 100 wines of 2007. Does it get any better than that?

Still, there's one problem with tasting truly great, or even very good, wines: sometimes they're so seamless, so well-integrated, that it's hard to pick out specific flavors and aromas. When that happens, I turn to other facets of a wine--body, mouthfeel, balance, etc. So, while the descriptions below may contain some of the same taste and aroma descriptors (how, after all, can one say a wine smells like smoked salmon when one can barely discern smoke at all from among the superfine mesh of flavors that it comprises?), there will be noticeable differences in descriptions of these other facets. Maybe as my skills as a taster develop, I'll be able to consistently distinguish pine from resin, saddle leather from worn boot, or roasted game from charcuterie. But for now, I'll make do with the tools I've got. Here goes:

(Numbers in parentheses indicate the wine's rank on Wine Spectator's top 100 wines of 2007)

1. Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc 2006 (California) $13.99/bottle (#35)
Nice, shimmery-silver color, with very pleasant aromas of citrus, herb, and something suggestive of richness I can't pin down. The simple flavor profile of lemon tart, herbs, and light cream is very well-integrated in this medium-bodied, very smooth and supply-textured wine.

2. Amisfield Pinot Noir 2005 (New Zealand) $35.99/bottle (#22)
Pretty brick red color. Aromas of cherry, strawberry licorice, smoke, and damp earth unfold in the flavor as well (with a hint of spice thrown in) in this crisply acidic pinot. A great food wine.

3. Perrin & Fils Vacqueyras 2005 (France) $26.99/bottle (#97)
Dark magenta color. Aromas of sea, green olive, white pepper, and blackberry. Medium bodied, with nice flavors of blackberry, intense peppery spice, brine, and pencil lead. This red from the southern Rhone would be a perfect match with just about any dishes (esp. mediterranean) made with olives or rosemary.

4. Chateau Pontet-Canet 2004 (France) $49.99/bottle (#34)
Dark red with a lightly brownish tint, this medium-full Bordeaux shows lots of leather, earth, and red ripe berries on the nose. Behind the firm, still-young tannins, one can sense ripe currant and loads of leather and minerality wanting to burst through. In time. Very smooth mouthfeel.

5. Owen Roe Ex Umbris 2005 (Washinton) $29.99/bottle (#69)
This syrah didn't show me much on the nose, with faint spice, ripe blueberry, and something like tree bark (or another term for a mix of earthy and woody). But the taste was a different story: bold, lush, and kinetic, flavors of superripe blue and purple berries, intense peppery spice, and hints of graphite and licorice zipped around in my mouth. This full-bodied wine is like a fine suede: deeply textured and tactile but fairly elegant at the same time.

6. JC Cellars The Impostor 2005 (California) $37.99/bottle (#52)
This full-bodied blend of zinfandel, mourvedre, petit syrah, and syrah is dark purple, with aromas of blackberry liquer and wild brambles dominating. The wine is so ripe and concentrated it's almost syrupy, with extracted flavors of sweet berry liqueur and superripe berries, zippy spice, and a lightly salty, sanguine note. When I hear people say they don't drink fine wine because they couldn't appreciate it, I know they've never had a wine like this one. It's hard not to love something with this much sheer flavor and texture.

7. Mollydooker Carnival of Love 2005 (Australia) $79.99/bottle (#8)
Did I say "The Impostor" was thick and concentrated? Geeeez. This very full-bodied, inky, purple-black wine smells like blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream, and in the mouth it is absolutely decadent--oozingly ripe, spicy, thick, syrupy, chewy, luscious almost to a fault. Parker gave it a 99. I wouldn't go that far (it's almost too much), but this is a wine you need to try before you die.

Lance's Tasting Notes

Hi everybody. Lance here. I've been a regular at Stimmels' tastings since August of 2006, and Bill recently tapped me to post my notes on the wine side of Thursday's wine/beer tastings. I'm thrilled to be a part of Stimmels' effort to bring great craft beers and fine domestic and imported wines to BG and the surrounding area. So, without further ado, here are my notes on "Around the World," the tasting for Thursday, November 29.

1. Faively Bourgogne 2005. (France/Burgundy; 100% Chardonnay) $21.99/bottle
The first thing I noticed about this very interesting (and good) white Burgundy was that it smells like movie popcorn, with a combination of toast and butter aromas. On the palate the wine is buttery, with sour apple fruit and just a hint of smoke and minerality. Good acidity for pairing with food.

2. Chateau Gigognan Clos du Roi Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2003 (France/Rhone). $49.99/bottle
This red is very different for a CdP, but if you give it a chance I think you'll like it. Rich and full-bodied, with flavors of black olive and brine followed by pronounced black licorice on the long finish.

3. Justin Orphan 2005 (California/Paso Robles; blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petite verdot, and petite syrah) $24.99/bottle
Simple but good, with bright, ripe cherry fruit and lots of vanilla. A bit on the oaky side for my taste, but lots of people will love this easy-to-drink red.

4. Planeta Syrah 2004 (Italy/Sicily) 39.99/bottle
Very nice wine. Loads of black currant and dark berry fruit with well-integrated herb, black pepper, and salt/blood flavors. With efforts like this, it's no surprise that Sicily has recently begun to get international attention for its wines.

5. Numanthia Termes 2005 (Spain/Toro; Tinta de Toro) $39.99/bottle
Wow. Robert Parker gave the 2004 vintage of this wine 94 pts., and I think this one is right on 2004's heels. Deep, rich, lush, and powerfully tannic, this very young red is already elegant and smooth--hedonism in a bottle. Still, I'd wait five, even ten+ years to drink it. If you would ever consider spending $40 on a wine, make it this one (which easily drinks like a $100+ wine).

6. Tait Ballbuster 2006 (Australia/Barossa; 80% shiraz, 10% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot) $17.99/bottle
Very ripe, concentrated dark berry fruit, layered with earth, minerality, and a touch of oak. More complex, and more enjoyable, than the average Aussie "fruit bomb."

7. Churchill Vintage Porto 1997 (Portugal) 76.99/bottle
I don't usually fall in line with "expert" opinions, but the Wine Spectator's description of blackberry and lead pencil are right on. Richly-textured, dense, and lightly sweet, with still-discernable tannins.

Ommegang Gift Pack

We only have six of these gems: Ommegang gift packs, retailing for about $20 a box, containing a limited edition 10-year anniversary glass, a limited edition 750ml bottle of Chocolate Indulgence (a new holiday beer) and a 750ml bottle each of Three Philosophers and Hennepin.

Soft?

A couple of weeks back, one my distributors dropped off a sample of the latest IPA (which will remain anonymous) for me to sample. I tried it at home later that night, and it was a truly horrible beer. Terribly unbalanced, the brew was so ridiculously over-hopped that I had the distinct flavor of bile (which I hadn't tasted since my college days, but that's another story) in my mouth for hours after I had taken my last sip.

India Pale Ales (aka IPA) have been one of the hottest craft beer styles on the market the past several years, and many self-described "hop-heads" can't get enough of 'em. There are some outstanding ones available (right here at Stimmel's Market), like Great Lakes Commodore Perry, Dogfish Head 60 Minute, Goose Island, Harpoon, Bell's Two Hearted and many more. The best India Pale Ales tend to balance the extreme hoppiness with a healthy dose of malted barley, resulting in fresh, spicy, citrusy beers that are framed by a slightly sweet breadiness.

Well, these days many brewers are trying to push the envelope on hoppiness, and in the process are kissing the malt good-bye. It's almost as if a bunch of guys are sitting around the brewhouse saying "Dude, let's put TWICE as much hops in the brew, that'll be COOL!". While creativity and experimentation are what make the American craft beer industry great, I believe the focus of bottling a new beer should be simple: Is it a well-made, quality product? Sadly, many are not.

And that brings me to my conversation with the distributor last week (after I had tried the IPA). When I told him that I thought the beer was out of balance, too hoppy, and just not very good, his reply was "Eh, you're just getting soft." Soft, no. Critical, yes.

Winter Whites

I sat down with some friends earlier in the week to taste a handful of white wines. As it gets colder outside, most of us tend to think about big, chewy red wines, and begin a Winter-long white wine-drinking hiatus. Well, we defied that trend, and blind-tasted Sauvignon Blancs - specifically two bottles of Sancerre from the Loire valley in France, and two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region in New Zealand. All four were quite good, but I especially loved the two Kiwi whites.

Nobilo SB (retails for around $12), nearly reminded me of an Alsatian white, as it showed vibrant, zesty tart fruit balanced by a yeasty breadiness mid-palate. The Babich SB (retails for around $13), as one other taster described, was "an explosion of citrus fruit" on the palate. Unabashed, grapefruit and orange peel jump out of the glass, and the flavors remain persistent. If you're looking for good, thought-provoking, reasonably priced white wines to enjoy year-round, these New Zealand Sauv Blancs will do the trick.

Layered

After a lengthy (i.e. 5 months) hiatus, one of the most popular Aussie Reds is finally back at Stimmel's Market. Layer Cake Shiraz, now at $15.99 a bottle, is still a great value; pick some up today!

Those Holiday Brews

We're knee-deep in the holiday season, and we've got a pretty incredible selection (ahem...if I may say so...) here at the market. So far, here are some of the seasonal brews now available:

Great Lakes Christmas Ale
Goose Island Christmas Ale
Bell's Winter White
Moylan's White Christmas
Buckeye Brewing Ho Ho Ho
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome
Samuel Adams Winter Lager
Anchor Our Special Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Delirium Noel
DeDolle Still Nacht
Rogue Santa's Private Reserve
Penn Brewing St. Nikolas Bock
Blue Moon Full Moon
Southern Tier Old Man Winter
Summit Winter Ale

...and more.

Cheers!