What’s In the Cellar Right Now

A few of my fellow students at the CIA this summer asked for a copy of my “wine list” at home and regrettably I never got around to sending it (though it changes weekly so it’s hard to keep it updated frequently enough). Some are aging, some might not be here next week, but here is what is downstairs in the wine cellar and upstairs in the little wine fridge:

Reds

Winery	Wine	Year	Appellation
Beaulieu Vineyard	Beauzeaux (Zinfandel, Syrah, Charbano, Petite Syrah, Lagrein, Valdiguie, Grenache, Tempranillo)	2005	Sonoma, CA
Bellview	Cabernet Sauvignon	2005	Outer Coastal Plain, NJ
Ben Glaetzer	Wallace Shiraz Grenache	2006	Barossa Valley, Australia
Bouchard Pere & Fils	La Vignee Bourgogne	2000	Beaune, Cote-d’Or, Bourgogne, France
Brotherhood	Cabernet Sauvignon	2003	Hudson River Valley, NY
Cantina Zaccagnini	Montepulciano d’Abruzzo	2004	Bolognano, Abruzzo, Italy
Capela de Santa Margarida	Evora	2003	Alentejo, Portugal
Cartlidge & Browne	Pinot Noir	2007	American Canyon, Napa Valley, CA
Castello di Borghese	Hargrave Pinot Noir	2002	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Chateau Belle-Vue	Haut-Medoc (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot) *	2002	Haut-Medoc, France
Christophe Buisson	Recolte Pinot Noir	2006	Bourgogne, France
DeWaal	Pinotage	2002	Stellenbosch, South Africa
Domaine Alfred	Califa Pinot Noir, Chamisal Vineyards	2000	Edna Valley, San Luis Obispo, CA
Dupont-Tisserandot	Bourgogne Pinot Noir	2000	Gevrey-Chambertin, Cote-d’Or, Bourgogne, France
E. Guigal	Cotes du Rhone	2005	Cotes du Rhone, France
Failla	Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir	2006	Russian River Valley, CA
Fox Creek	Shiraz Grenache	2000	McLaren Vale, Australia
Francis Coppola	Diamond Collection Ivory Label Cabernet Sauvignon	2006	Geyserville, Napa Valley, CA
Freja	Pinot Noir *	2006	Willamette Valley, OR
Gustavo Thrace	Cabernet Sauvignon	1999	Pope Valley, Napa Valley, CA
Hartford Family	Russian River Valley Zinfandel	2005	Forestville, CA
J	Pinot Noir	2006	Healdsburg, Russian River Valley, CA
Laurel Lake	Pinot Noir Reserve	2003	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Laurel Lake	Syrah	2002	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Miles	Pinot Noir	2005	Finger Lakes, NY
Paringa	Cabernet Sauvignon	2003	South Australia
Paumanok	Cabernet Franc, Grand Vintage	2005	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Pecchenino	San Luigi Dolcetto di Dogliani	2005	Dolce di Dogliani, Piedmont, Italy
Pedroncelli	Dry Creek Valley Petite Syrah	2005	Sonoma, CA
Pegasus Bay	Pinot Noir	2002	North Canterbury, New Zealand
Ridgeline	Sonoma County Merlot	2003	Napa Valley, CA
Rocca	Cabernet Sauvignon	2004	Yountville, Napa Valley, CA
Rocca	Bad Boy Red	2005	Yountville, Napa Valley, CA
Rosenblum Cellars	Vintner’s Cuvee Zinfandel	NV	Alameda, CA
Rutz	Maison Grand Cru Russian River Valley Pinot Noir	2000	Russian River Valley, CA
Salmon Run	Pinot Noir	2001	Keuka Lake, Finger Lakes, NY
Warnke	Merlot	2005	Napa Valley, CA

* Unfiltered

Whites

Winery	Wine	Year	Appellation
Belhurst	Pinot Grigio	2006	Finger Lakes, NY
Belhurst	Legends Chardonnay	2004	Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, NY
Chateau de Maligny	Chablis	2004	Montee de Tonnerre, Chablis, France
Chateau Ducasse	Bordeaux *	2007	Bordeaux, France
Chateau Jeanguillon	Bordeaux	2006	Entre-Deux-Mers, Bordeaux, France
Chateau Puy Boyrein	Bordeaux	2006	Graves, Bordeaux, France
Comtesse Therese	Russian Oak Chardonnay	2003	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Cuilleron, Gaillard, Villard	Remeage, Les Vins de Vienne	2006	Seyssuel, France
Francis Coppola	Diamond Collection Yellow Label Sauvignon Blanc	2007	Geyserville, Napa Valley, CA
Franciscan	Cuvee Sauvage Chardonnay	2006	Carneros, Napa Valley, CA
Frank Family Vineyards	Chardonnay	2005	Calistoga, Napa Valley, CA
George DeBoeuf	Bourgogne	2006	Macon-Villages, Bourgogne, France
Hogue Cellars	Gewurtztraminer	2006	Columbia Valley, WA
Joseph Drouhin	Laforet Bourgogne	2006	Beaune, Cote-D’or, Bourgogne, France
Joseph Drouhin	Pouilly-Fuisse	2006	Beaune, Cote-D’or, Bourgogne, France
Maison Louis Latour	Bourgogne	2006	Beaune, Cote-D’or, Bourgogne, France
Miles	Chardonnay	2004	Finger Lakes, NY
Raphael	Sauvignon Blanc	2003	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Raphael	Sauvignon Blanc	2004	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Raphael	Sauvignon Blanc	2005	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Trimbach	Pinot Blanc	2005	Alsace, France
Vignobles Boudinaud	Grange des Rouquette Marsanne Viognier	2005	Rhone, France
Villa Maria	Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc	2007	Marlborough, NZ

* Unfiltered

Fruits & Desserts

Winery	Wine	Year	Appellation
Baldwin	Trilogy	2005	Hudson River Valley, NY
Bedell	Raspberry Wine	2003	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey	Sauternes	2002	Sauternes, Bordeaux, France
Chestnut Run Farm	Asian Pear Wine	NV	Pilesgrove, NJ
Duck Walk	Aphrodite Late Harvest Gewurtztranminer	2002	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Elk Run	Vin de Jus Glace (Riesling Ice Wine)	2005	Mount Airy, MD
Four Sisters Winery	Spicy Sisters Semi-Sweet Spiced Apple Wine	NV	Belvidere, NJ
Fu-Ki	Plum Wine	NV	Japan
Kiuchi Brewery	YuZu Wine	NV	Japan
Martin Weyrich	Moscato Allegro	2003	Paso Robles, CA
Paumanok	Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc	2006	Finger Lakes, NY
Pindar	Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer	2001	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Pindar	Winter White (off-dry)	NV	North Fork, Long Island, NY
Proud Country Cellars	Carroll’s Mead	NV	Hudson River Valley, NY
Rosenblum Cellars	Gallagher Reserve Black Muscat	2005	Alameda, CA
Tomasello Winery	Pomegranate Wine	NV	Hammonton, NJ
Tomasello Winery	Cherry Wine	NV	Hammonton, NJ
Tomasello Winery	Mulled Spice Wine	NV	Hammonton, NJ
Tomasello Winery	American Almonique	NV	Hammonton, NJ
Wagner	Vignoles Ice Wine	1998	Finger Lakes, NY

Sparkling

Winery	Wine	Year	Appellation
Domaine Ste. Michelle	Luxe	1999	Washington
Domaine Ste. Michelle	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Washington
Tarantas	Cava Brut	NV	Spain
Presto	Prosecco Brut	NV	Italy

Fortified

Winery	Wine	Year	Appellation
Knapp	Limoncello	2005	Romulus, NY
Bodegas Toro Albala	Pedro Ximenez Gran Reserva	1971	Cordoba, Spain
Alvear	Pedro Ximenez 1927 Solera	NV	Montilla-Moriles, Andalucía, Spain

Pardon the squished formatting . . . sometimes ya gotta work with what you have. I also realize some of these wines are past their prime — don’t worry, they’ll be consumed very soon! Many of these were gifts, many picked up on local wine tasting outings, a good number purchased at the Wine Library. As always looking for recommendations!

Traditions

Though it was looking like I wouldn’t see my family this Christmas my mom found a way and met up with my brother at our house this evening before heading back to PA in the morning. She brought a bottle of the Pouilly-Fuisse that I couldn’t taste at my tasting party a couple months ago — it was delightful, although conversation with my family is usually too hectic to stop and do tasting notes so I have no review of it. As Christmas gifts she also brought me a bottle of a 2004 Châteauneuf du Pape and a book I can’t wait to start reading: “The Billionaire’s Vinegar” by Benjamin Wallace, apparently a story about “the mystery of the world’s most expensive bottle of wine” and featuring a picture of an ancient-looking vessel of 1787 Lafitte on the front cover. By the descriptions I’d guess this is THE bottle of 1787 Lafitte. Yay Mom! Heh she also gave us the traditional navel orange for prosperity. So like old times we listened to goth covers of Christmas carols, ate some cheese, drank some wine and talked. I’m also delighted to share that my husband got me a 50 bottle stainless steel wine fridge for Christmas which is currently taking up most of the hallway until the addition to our house is finished and we can make room in the basement for it next to my current wine rack(s). I was concerned that it would be too expensive but due to the retail climate in the current economy it was marked down almost absurdly low. Hurray! Thanks, hon! Now I can be more confident that saving a bottle for 10 years will be less risky than doing so with less environmental control.

Happy Holidays everyone, whichever one you celebrate (my holiday was a few days ago), may it be safe, fun and enjoyed with those you love. And if you can’t be with the ones you love, honey . . . you know how the song goes.

Cheers!

From the Library

In this case I mean from my own “library” as one would refer to a “library wine” as older and stored for aging. A long time ago in a lifetime far, far away I was on vacation in New Orleans and had a 1996 Mayacamas Chardonnay at Emeril Lagasse’s NOLA restaurant and nearly fell over it was so impressive. Once home from that trip I signed up for their semi-annual newsletter (that comes in the mailbox at the end of my driveway and is printed on thick fancy paper) and began my search for another bottle. Some years later I discovered a wine store in Red Bank that carried it and made the investment — this time in a 1999. Now, mind you at the time I was that-friend-that-everyone-hands-the-wine-list-to-at-restaurants but had no idea what the 1999 vintage was like for Napa Valley. And frankly I didn’t care. This wine was the closest thing to biting into a cool, liquid, fresh green apple infused with sunshine that you’re going to find. So there it lay in my cellar for a Special Occasion for many years — probably too many for a white but hey, they’re still selling their 2000 Chardonnay in their library section — and I decided today that a special enough occasion is wanting to drink it. At least I didn’t smuggle it into a burger joint and slurp it with fries. I could analyze why I never felt any other occasion was special enough for it — I’m sure there were many, many, many — but it’s more likely that either it wouldn’t pair well with whatever we were serving or I’d be the only one drinking it. And special occasions often call for champagne anyway.

So this ’99 Chardonnay from the Napa side of the Mayacamas Mountains, that I finally exposed to the air 9 years since it last felt it, is a pale gold color, almost brassy, with a wide silver rim. There is slight flocculation (specks) throughout the wine but it is star bright and looks luminescent enough. On the nose I detect mild honey, lemon, straw, limestone, and a light jasmine note. In the palate the honey is stronger, followed by lemon, golden delicious apple, lemon pith, and unripe pineapple. So the personality seems to have matured from bright green, fresh & crisp to warmer, “yellower” flavors, but it still has the highly acidic edginess to it that keeps it standing upright. The wine is dry, medium bodied, the alcohol was well-integrated (13.75%), with medium- intensity, no tannins or oak, medium finish and medium complexity. I would pair this with herb chicken, oysters or any type of seafood for that matter, or that butternut squash soufflé I made once. Delicious.

My ONLY concern is that it seemed to have aged adequately in spite of my cellar environment, not in harmony with it. I think if it were a bit cooler down there (or at least if the temperature were more consistent) the wine would have had more to say. At the end of some of the sips there was a sad note that suggested a tiny bit of volatile acidity. Guess it’s time to get a real wine fridge . . .

Overall I really enjoyed the Chardonnay. I just wish I had been kinder to it over the years — or opened it sooner!

Morticia’s Actual Cellar

. . . is my basement.  By far it is not an ideal storage area for my little collection since temperature is often a challenge but it’s the best I have.  For our wedding we received a great refrigerated Cuisinart Wine Cellar (gee, guess who had put THAT on the registry) but it only holds 6 bottles which leaves another 70 or so in the rack downstairs. My husband suggested that we invest in a larger, temperature controlled storage option but they can be very expensive. The test: tasting one of the more delicate wines in the basement rack that has been there for many years and see how it’s fared the warmth. At least we have total control over the humidity down there.

Tonight’s guinea pig was a Laurel Lake Vineyards 2003 Pinot Noir Reserve from North Fork, Long Island, NY. Visually this was no youngin’, with wide rim variations from garnet in the center to rust to orange to salmon to amber on the edge. Clear and day bright. The nose was nowhere to be found for a moment, but after letting it get comfortable in the glass for a minute or two it smelled clean with assertive maraschino cherries, pomegranate, red plum, some dried cherries, walnut, pecan pie, mulling spices and spiced apple. The palate was a little shyer, only telling me red cherry, red plum, spiced apple, and cherry pie. Enjoyable but I can’t help but wonder if maybe it is just on a quiet year in the process. Good thing I have a second bottle to open later! My only complaint about this wine was that the 12.5% alcohol felt more like 14.5% to me. Otherwise it was dry, the acidity was high, no significant oak, medium intensity nose & palate, medium bodied, mellow/gentle tannins, medium finish and medium complexity. I liked it. This might be tough to pair right now because most of the foods I’m thinking of that could pair with a Pinot Noir would overstep the soft-spoken nature of this particular Pinot. Maybe we’ll see what the other bottle says in a year or two. Or more likely it was best when I bought. That’s the exciting part of aging wine — we’ll see what happens!

A note on aging to those who don’t normally do it deliberately: the wine needs to have certain structural elements such as higher acidity, some tannins, residual sugar (for sweets), a degree of complexity, etc. otherwise they may not stand up to the changes age affects on a wine. These are not absolutes but certainly important factors. One consistent thing all of my teachers at the CIA imparted upon us was that wine is a living thing. Once the wine goes into a bottle and is corked up, it becomes an individual with its own lifespan and uniqueness. It continues to evolve forever. The world inside that bottle is a living environment. Without the backbone & complexity to grow into something interesting that wine won’t necessarily stop changing, it just may morph into something not so good. But ideally wherever you store your wine you want to make sure there is a little humidity but not too much (so the corks don’t get moldy or dry out), temperature regulated to about 55 to 65 degrees, as little light as possible, and as little vibration as possible. If all you have is a closet in your apartment, use that.  Now remember, a hearty Cabernet Sauvignon will not show the same way in 5 yrs as a Pinot Noir or a Pinot Gris/Grigio.  5 years is NOT a long time.  When you want to talk about truly mature wine we can look back to 1969 or 1933 or something . . . although older wines become increasingly harder to find since much of the wine we drink today is meant to be drunk today, or people just don’t have the patience. 

So maybe we could still use a real-deal wine storage cabinet but so far it seems that I’m not cooking or oxidizing my wine. Guess I’ll just have to try more and see!