Santa Digna, Miguel Torres

I've been concentrating a bit too much lately on some of the high end wines (it's not my fault you try to drink Grange and and then talk about something else). So I thought to make up for it I would talk about an inexpensive line of wines. Miguel Torres is fairly big name in the wine industry, they are most famous (at least in our store) as the makers of Manso de Velasco which is one of the best Cabernets on the planet for under $100. It really over-delivers for $40. But they also have a line of wine that over-delivers for $12---Santa Digna. What great about these wines is that they are not trying to imitate the California industrial style. You know what I mean, fruity, not much tannins and......not much else, good but boring. Santa Digna is not like that it's wine with a point of view accessible but still interesting.

Santa Digna, Sauvignon Blanc 2008---Not a New Zealand citrus bomb, much more reserved with a lot of herbal notes and pineapple perfect for drinking with food. ***+

Santa Digna, Cabernet Sauvignon 2008---instead of going for California fruit or French minerality This cab brings in lovely leather notes and liquorice silky and elegant and once again perfect for food.***+

Santa Digna, Carmenere 2008---You can tel the same palate that made the Cab is behind this wine. Elegant and fruity it keeps the vegatal flavors that made Carmenere famous without making you feel like you took a bite of a green bell pepper.***++

Penfolds Grange !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shiraz, with--depending on the vintage--a tiny bit of Cabernet Sauvignon. Ladies and Gentlemen the deservedly legendary Grange:

1994---Intense but somehow still soft with gentle tannins. Aged and elegant ****

1998---Intenser, rich cherry flavor rolls over the palate in suprising ways a very heavy mouth feel and a long unbelievably complex finish****+

2004---Intenserest, astoundingly rich thick and complex. Lots of everything, deep. This is the Platonic ideal of Australian Shiraz. It's almost impossible to tease out the various flavors because there are so many of them and it so balanced. The Wine Advocate gave it 99 out of 100 points. I gave it ***** plus several OMGs and twenty or thirty exclamation points. It is the single best wine I have tasted in my life (and at $500 a bottle it had better be).

Chateau St. Jean, Cinq Cepages

Mostly Cabernet but blended with Merlot, Cab. Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verodot (hence the name).

1996---The Wine Spectator named it the wine of the year, and it deserved it. Heavy mouth feel, lots of rich fruit and gentle tannins, aging very gracefully ****++

2001---Rich and very spicy with heavy minerality and wonderful violet notes ****

2003---This one is smokey with rich leather flavor the dark fruit just a supporting player ****+

2006---Very approachable with less leather (don't get me wrong I love leather in wine but most wine drinkers find the intensity of leather off-putting) spicy with the fruit once again playing a supporting role ****

Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

1989--- A rich berry nose smooth, elegant, soft, with refined wood flavors, and spice not to mention gentle rose flavor. If you happen to own a bottle of this one drink it now it's ready in a few years it will be past it's prime ***+

1992--- A brighter version of the 1989 smooth with a long lingering spicy finish ***++

2001---My favorite of the five vintages. Oak and fruit bomb, lots of dark cherry flavor and cedar****

2005---Very similar to the 2001 one but softer less of a bomb ***++

2006---Biggest and fruitiest of the five vintages. The dark cherry flavor is moved forward and the the oak has turned into a supporting player just great ****

And How Was YOUR Tuesday?

Because mine was pretty good. Foster's Group (yes the company with the beer) had a big wine tasting at the Harbor Court Hotel. This might not mean much to you but that's only because you don't know which wineries Foster's owns. For instance not only do they own the behemoth Beringer but they also own more obscure but but much more prestigious wineries like Stag's Leap. But there was a special wine tasting just for V.I.P.s (ahem). Four different vintages of Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepages (current vintage about $70 a bottle). Five different vintages of Beringer Private Reserve (about $100). And three vintages of Penfold's Grange (around $500 per bottle). We should do this every week.

Once Again I know What I'm Talking About

Over the weekend we opened up a bottle of Bila-Haut for people to to taste. In a matter of a few hours we sold two cases of it. It's always a lot of fun when I find a wine I like and everyone else likes it too. For a short time after it happens--I think I'm smart.

M. Chapoutier Cotes du Roussillon-Villages Les Vignes de Billa-Haut $15 ***++

A new 90 pointer! And it's name is..... well to be honest I'm not quite sure what it's name is. The problem with French wine is that their naming conventions are so complex that looking at label you might not be able to tell the difference between the wine, the wine maker or the area it's from I was all set to just call this wine Bila-Haut and then I read the review in the Wine Spectator which referred to it as M. Chapoutier, with what I thought was the name coming third after the appellation. All of which means that what I thought was the name is in fact.....I still don't know. Wait a minute, I'll Google it----and I'm still not sure, but the only reference to Bila-Haut is for the wine we are talking about which means that the name is Bila-Haut, but why doesn't The Wine Spectator think so? Oh well it's just the mystery of French wines.

Wait..WAIT! I forgot to talk about the wine. Which is stupid because it is great. A classic Syrah (Shiraz), Grenache, Carignane blend. Fruit forward enough to please the American palate with enough French minerality and structure to let you know you are in France. A deep rich elegant wine. The Wine Spectator gave 90 pts and put it in the top 100 wines for the year.

Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc 2009 $9.99***+

Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc is one of our big sellers the previous vintage got all sorts of high ratings. The new vintage hasn't been rated yet but I have tasted it and it's the same aggressive citrus flavors very much in the New Zealand style even though it is from Chile and owned by Rothschild (Lafite, that is). Very crisp and refreshing and tastes like a $20 Sauv Blanc.

$9.99

Mike Steinberger at Slate (whose wine articles I've mentioned before)has an article where he tries to find good wine for under $10. He has some trouble finding --in his words, wines of "character and individuality". But he does manage to find a few. One of which I already reviewed. It got me thinking that I should mention a few that we have here. I mean, that I haven't already reviewed.

H3 Merlot 2007***++

It's the fault of that damned movie. You know the one I'm talking about. The one about wine, with those famous actors whose names you can almost remember. You know the movie I'm talking about, the one you didn't see? That movie that almost no one saw. But the commercials were ubiquitous. Remember? "No, NO, if anyone orders Merlot I am leaving!". Doesn't that ring a bell? That commercial, killed, killed, the demand for Merlot. Everyone assumed that drinking Merlot meant that you were an unsophisticated wine drinker. OK, granted there had been a lot of, shall we say, soft and fruit forward Merlots in the marketplace that did appeal to people who haven't been drinking wine long. But still, it's so unfair. Because Merlot can make wonderful, supple and and not-fruit-forward-at-all wine. Case in point. H3 Merlot has subtle tannins with a soft earthiness and flower flavors it's deep and rich and if you didn't know better you might guess you were drinking a Cabernet. The "Wine Spectator" gave it a deserved 91 points.

H3 Cabernet Sauvignon 2007***++

I've mentioned H3 before, about how the last vintage wasn't available. But I didn't review it. Now the reason I didn't review it was because I hadn't...you know...tasted it. This is actually a bit embarrassing, we try not to bring wine into the store we haven't tasted. But since we had tasted the vintage before last and it was so good, and it had been so long since you could get it in Maryland, and the reviews had been so good, and the price was so good, and it was so unlikely that we weren't going to like it, well...we jumped on it. And I'm glad we did. Because it's great. For a wine that has Columbia Crest on the label it's an idiosyncratic California Cab, it cannot in any way be described as a "fruit bomb". Oh there's plenty of fruit going on, but the action is in the other flavors and the structure. There's a lot of minerality and well integrated tannins and floral notes with perhaps a hint of leather with a long chocolaty finish. "Wine and Spirits" gave it 91 points and made it one of the "Top 100 Buys of the Year".

Brew Dog Paradox Macallan $13/12oz*****

There was just one case left in Maryland. Just one. So we bought it. Without ever tasting it. Simply because it was Brew Dog. And then...we tasted it. It's an Imperial Stout aged six months in whisky casks. Not in just any whisky casks but Macallan single malt whisky casks from 1987 that had previously used to age sherry. Wow, just wow. The beer is rich and thick and it almost has the mouth feel of port. for those who were wondering, yes you can taste the Macalan. Let me rephrase that, YOU CAN TASTE THE MACALLAN!! It is without a doubt the most interesting and different beer I have ever tasted in my life. If you are a beer nerd, this is the beer you need to taste before you die. If you are not a beer nerd it's worth becoming one so you can learn to appreciate this extraordinary work of art.

Important Question

"What are the drawbacks to drinking an entire pot of coffee before noon?"

Bashah Brewdog/Stone Brewing $6/btl ****

Yes, you read that right $6 for a twelve once bottle--it's worth it and then some. The beer is a joint venture between the the legendary Scottish brewery and the legendary American Brewery Stone Brewing. It is worth every penny. They call the beer a black Belgian style double India pale ale--whatever that is. The beer is pitch black in the glass with a tan head the nose is sweet coffee malt and it taste like a stout with subtle (very subtle) Belgian citrus flavor. A big heavy stupendous beer. 9% alcohol so be careful.

Penner-Ash Pinot Noir, Willematte Valley ****+ $57

First, before you freak out about the price, $57 is not out of line for a fantastic Oregon Pinot Noir. And second, we managed to make a deal with the distributer by buying way too much of it, so that we've managed to get the price down to $42 which for a world class Pinot Noir is chicken feed (and is less that what you'd pay if you bought directly from the winery). And make no mistake, this wine is world class. It has the lush red cherry of a new world Pinot Noir but with the chocolate and spice that adds incredible complexity leading to a long an luxurious finish of vanilla. The Wine Spectator mode it one of it's Top 100 of 2009, the Wine Advocate gave it 90 points and Steven Tanzer gave it 92 points. This wine is an experience not to be missed.

Penner-Ash Voignier 2009****+ $33

Carrol from the wine rep from The Country Vintner Came by with the wine-maker from Penner-Ash Wine Cellars, Lynn Penner-Ash herself. One of the problems with meeting the wine-maker when you first taste the wine is that the wine has a tendency to taste better. There's nothing especially mysterious about this, drinking wine with the whoever lovingly made the wine just puts you in a better mood and that would make any wine taste better. With that caveat---This is the best Viogner I have ever tasted. The winery specializes in Pinot Noir which are spectacular (more on them later), but I've had spectacular Pinot Noirs, before this is my first spectacular Viogner. A rich almost oily texture, creamy with lots of fruit flavors, melon, pear, tropical fruit, and long sweet finish. The Wine Spectator gave it 91 points. This is a truly great white wine.

Sabor Real toro Crianza 2005 $12.99****

Since I talked about expensive wines I thought might bring up a very inexpensive that is at least as good as anything in the rare wine room. I love this wine. Incredibly rich, big, spicy, fruit forward of a Spanish wine but still has that austere Spanish style. Lots of mineral floral notes supported by juicy cherry and blackberry flavors. The vines are all over 100 years old yielding a wine of immense intensity. The Wine Advocate gave it 91 points. When I tasted it I gave it 4 stars.

Chartreuse Martini

While we are on the subject of Chartreuse, I should bring up one of my favorite mixed drinks. It goes by a bunch of different names, most of which are stupid, so I just call it a Chartreuse Martini. There only two ingredients:

Chartreuse--one part

The best gin you can find--two parts

Chill in a shaker of ice and pour into the smallest martini glass you can find. I'm serious about that last part, this is a strong drink--very strong. Good gin tends to be at least 90 proof (my current favorite for this drink is Tanqueray Ten which is 94.6) and Chartreuse is 110 proof. This drink is not for amateurs. Even on a full stomach one is pretty much enough for an evening.

But what a great evening, the herbal complexity of the flavors is mind blowing. The gin cuts the sweetness of the Chartreuse to make it almost refreshing. One sip never fails to put me in a good mood.

The Cure For The Common Cold

Piping hot peppermint tea lots of sugar and a big shot of Bourbon. Repeat as necessary.

I had a cold yesterday and today I don't--conclusive proof.

Chartreuse

Without any equivocation Chartreuse is my favorite liqueur. And by "favorite liqueur" I mean it is my FAVORITE liqueur. I have have evangelized this liqueur to every single one of my friends and without exception once they taste it they consider me completely insane. Now, I don't blame them (too much), Chartreuse has a very (an I mean VERY) intense flavor unlike anything else any one has ever tasted. People who've never tried it ask me what it tastes like and I', at a loss nothing else tastes like Chartreuse. For instance here's The Spirit Journal's attempt to describe the flavors:

"cloves, angelica*, fennel, citrus, thyme, rosemary, hyssop**, cinnamon, mace, pine....."

As you can see there's a lot going on. And though we are a small percentage of the population, Those of us who love Chartreuse are not alone both "The Spirit Journal" and The Wine Enthusiast" gave Chartreuse perfect scores in their reviews. Oh and by the way, the color is named after their color of the liqueur not the other way around.

*No, I don't know what angelica is.

**No, I don't know what hyssop is either.