Upscale Wines for Upscale Tastes

[Karsten Boone]

             

Price does matter—for nuance. 

I have found many wines under $20 a bottle that I enjoy, but, when it comes to that WOW bottle, price, within reason, can pay off.  You really do, often, get what you pay for.  But, like many things—it only matters to a point—a wine that is just over the line may well satisfy more than an incrementally more expensive bottle.

Raised in exceptional locales, sometimes cooled by ocean fogs, other times baking in the sun, exceptional handcrafted wines always seem to share one characteristic—they taste of the place and history of their shepherds.   The winemaker can accentuate the grape’s character, highlight its special attributes—in the end, an exceptional wine is a marriage of vineyard and winemaker, and stands out because each recognizes the value of the other, and brings their own personality to the forefront.  That was the conclusion of the Occasional Wine Council, after tasting seven exceptional wines from Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Paso Robles, and Czech.  We tried two Pinot Noirs, three Cabernet Sauvignons, a Chardonnay, and a Straw Wine.  These are special occasion wines, and excellent reminders of nuances that can be found—at a price.

With wines retailing from $40 to $89, each found a place in my heart—and I would happily savor them on a special evening.  But, even in this range, we found that Masut Vineyard & Winery’s 2012 Pinot Noir for $40 just edged out its higher priced companion, Sojourn Cellars’ 2012 Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir ($54).  The two $65 Cabernet Sauvignons (Tudal Family Winery’s 2010 and Ca’Momi’s 2011) edged out Provenance Vineyards’ 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Beckstoffer to Kalon Vineyards.  Le Cuvier’s NV XLB Chardonnay Reserve ($55) was unique, achieving its wineherd’s objectives, but was not readily identifiable as a Chardonnay.  A Czech straw wine, a 2003 Riesling from Marcincak Winery ($63), is in a class by itself, honeyed, flowery, with apple and pineapple tastes, sweet, dry and full.

Bernard Fetzer founded Fetzer vineyards, and while Fetzer was long ago sold, his grandsons, Ben & Jake Fetzer, produce fine Pinot Noir on their estate vineyards next to the Mendocino ranch where they grew up.    The Fetzer brothers founded Masut vineyards. Their wine, is as home grown as they are.  They specialize in small lots, hand sorting their grapes, they let the grape shine through.  The wine is unfined, unfiltered, rich, full berried, with a bit of pepper, silky, satiny, something for the entire palate.  This is the embodiment of California style Pinot Noir.  You can taste the rich earth of its origins, and it should be paired with rich foods—it will overpower a delicate nosh.  We found this paired perfectly with the earthy flavors of a wild mushroom risotto, and with truffled cheese puffs (drizzle a little truffle honey, oh my). 

Sojourn Cellars 2012 Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir, in contrast, is a French style Pinot Noir, delicate, nuanced with pronounced fruit, slight pepper, and tastes of dark cherry and hints of forest floor.  This is a wine that can be sipped all night, rewarding your patience with new tastes as it, and you, open up.  Its silkiness paired with the wild mushroom risotto’s creaminess, but was overpowered by truffled cheese puffs.  The Sangiacomo vineyard is south of Santa Rosa at the base of Sonoma Mountain, cooled by ocean fog.  This produces a lighter Pinot Noir than Masut’s Mendocino vineyards.  Sojourn produces both vineyard designate and appellation blends, and it would be a treat to compare the designates versus the blends (which you can do, by appointment, at their tasting salon in Sonoma).  If you want an exceptional example of the Pinot Noir Varietal--get this.   

For the Cabernets, the question is:  do you prefer your Cabernet Sauvignon to be deep and powerful or food friendly, dark and jammy.  The Cabernets we tried could each stand alone, but Provenance Vineyards 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Beckstoffer to Kalon Vineyard really doesn’t need, or perhaps want, food.  It will overwhelm most dishes, but is perfect for a long night before the fire.  Deep, deep, deep, occult red, one sip takes you to “oh my god” territory.  Balanced, with long dry tannins at the end, its intensity stays with you.

Tudal Family Winery’s 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, paired with Bolognese Stuffed Bell Peppers, is dark ruby in color, fiery, with nice pepper, you feel like you can cut into this wine.  With good, smooth, tannins, powdery on your tongue, the mouth feel is great.   Blackberry is pronounced here, but finely balanced with hints of vanilla.  This is a steak ready Cabernet.

Ca’ Momi 2011 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is very dark purple, with its fruit flavors right up front, especially berry jam and dried currants.  It’s bright, balanced, and can stand alone or pair well with cheese and meat.  The three Italians who joined to form Ca’ Momi in 2006, give Napa fruit an Old World turn.  We paired this with veal, pork & ricotta meatballs, and the sweetness in the Cabernet was a perfect match. 

Le Cuvier is a unique winery in Paso Robles, the creation of John Munch, who has a passion for wine and storytelling.  The Le Cuvier NV XLB Chardonnay Reserve, is a combination of the 2005 and 2006 vintages, arrived after five years on oak and fermentation on their skins.  This is a sherry colored chardonnay gaining color from the oak and grape skins, with oak on the nose, good viscosity, a little raisin, a little baked apple on the way to tart apple mid palate.  If you didn’t know it was a Chardonnay, your taste would be unlikely to inform you of the varietal.  Here’s a wine you can drink when you might otherwise have Sherry with your meal.  I would pair this with a strong, spicy, smoky, paella and be happy.  This is unlike any other Chardonnay, and its uniqueness runs the risk of putting the taster off.  However, if you abandon your varietal expectations, and take it on its own terms, you will experience a different wine than you can get anywhere else.  I confess, Le Cuvier is one of my favorite wineries for just that reason--you always get something unique.  You can only get this wine here:  http://store.pismowineshop.com/le-cuvier-chardonnay-xlb-ultra-reserve. 

Straw wine is created by very late harvesting of the Riesling grape, which is then lain on straw to dry, and pressed at a high sugar point.  It’s like honey when pressed.  Slámové Vino, Ryzlink Rynsky from Marcincak Winery is a 2003 Czech straw wine from the Riesling grape.  Like Ice Wine, but not.  The aroma is like celery or straw, it tastes of honey, pear, apple, pineapple, and quince.  This is an excellent wine for mixed tastes, it has a little something for everyone.  While it can substitute for desert, when paired with a tropical fruit trifle, it was heaven.  Given the difficulty of production—they are left long on the vine to ripen to fully, stored on straw for at least three months, this wine closer to six months, attended to constantly to prevent decay, crushed with 50-60 brix,  the $63 price seems a steal.  

Most of us cannot enjoy these wines routinely, but for a special occasion, whether a romantic or business dinner, or just to celebrate an especially long and multi-hued sunset, they are worth turning to for reminders of the art of grape.