The Wine Curmudgeon

Expensive wine 44: Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Vau de Vey 2010

Those of you who insist on drinking chardonnay that tastes like it was flavored with vanilla and a national park full of oak trees can skip this review. The rest should pay careful attention.

That’s because this wine is chardonnay from the Chablis region of Burgundy in France that is made without oak and that takes the idea of unoaked chardonnay one step further. Regular visitors here know how much the Wine Curmudgeon appreciates white Burgundy, though Chablis sometimes gets short shrift given my preference to Montrachet.

This is not meant as a slight to Chablis, as the Brocard ($35, sample) demonstrates. This is classic Chablis -- clean, crisp, green apples -- at an incredible price. Everything that makes quality Chablis is here, from the minerality on the nose to the telltale acidity to the long finish. Best yet, this is a $35 wine that will age and only get better over the next couple of years as its fruit and acid blend and mellow. In this, it will demonstrate why a wine doesn’t always need oak to get better.

Serve this chilled with a classic bistro dinner – roast chicken, fried potatoes, garlicky green salad, and apple tart. And if you’re starting to wonder about holiday gifts, I know at least one wine drinker who would enjoy getting a bottle.

Expensive wine 43: Ridge Three Valleys 2010

If more California producers tended to business the way Ridge does, the Wine Curmudgeon would not have nearly as much to complain about. It has been one of the best wineries in the U.S. for almost four decades, and it’s not a coincidence that its Monte Bello cabernet sauvignon was a California entry at the Judgment of Paris.

Even during the silliness before the recession, when so many wineries chased points and dollar signs, Ridge did things pretty much the way it had always done them. It’s still doing that today, which is why it’s always on my list of the wineries that I respect the most.That’s saying something, because its least expensive wine is around $25.

That’s the Three Valleys ($22, purchased), a red blend made of mostly zinfandel. It has enough zinfandel character to appeal to those who like the post-modern style, yet it's also balanced between the jammy blackberry fruit, the oak, and what seems to be an almost herbal-like spiciness. And, somehow, it's only 14.4 percent alcohol, almost unheard of for zinfandel these days.

In this, it's an honest wine, something Ridge has always aimed for. Winemaker John Olney practices his craft the way it should be, and not how so many others do it to get high scores or critical raves.

Pair this wine with almost any red wine food, especially as the days get cooler, and it's an excellent choice for the fall holidays.

Expensive wine 42: Newton Merlot Unfiltered 2005

It’s probably too much to call this wine an anachronism, but it is a snapshot of what life was like in a certain part of the wine business just in those warm, sunny summer days before the recession.

The Newton ($40, sample) is Napa Valley wine the way a certain segment of wine drinkers, critics, and retailers thought Napa Valley wine should be – rich, luscious, ripe, and alcoholic (15.6 percent, believe it or not). It screams “Give me more than 90 points!” and descriptors like intense only begin to tell the story.

These days, it’s more difficult to find wines made this way. The recession played its part, devastating the super-premium wine business. Meanwhile, consumers seem to be tiring of high alcohol, while cooler harvests in California the past couple of vintages have made it more difficult to get wine to taste this way.

For the Newton is distinctive. Though it’s a huge wine, it is more interesting than others of its ilk, with more balance between dark fruits, silky tannins, and the acid than I expected. Having said that, it needs food, and manly food at that – big slabs of red meat. Otherwise, after two glasses, you're done. That so many people wanted that sort of thing almost makes me want to wax nostalgic.

Expensive wine 41: Francois Raquillet Mercurey La Brigadiere 2005

The Big Guy was on the phone. “I’ve got a wine you need to try.” Given The Big Guy’s fondness for white Burgundy, the Wine Curmudgeon’s guilty pleasure, who was I to argue with him?

Though, when he brought the bottle over,  it didn’t look promising, The wine was a closeout, stuffed on a back shelf in one of Dallas’ local chain stores. It looked like it had seen better days – worn label, lots of dust – but The Big Guy and I are nothing if not brave.

I broke out the glasses, and poured. We sipped. We sipped some more. And then, at more or less the same time, we smiled that goofy wine drinker’s smile that means we had found something very nice.

The wine was a François Raquillet Mercurey La Brigadière 2005 ($30, purchased – thanks, Big Guy) and don’t worry if you’ve never heard of it. Neither did the three wine people I asked – the woman who knows more about wine than anyone I know, the master sommelier, and the guy studying to be a master sommelier.

Which made the Raquillet that much more fun. It’s a white wine from Mercurey, a part of Burgundy better known for its reds, and how it ended up on a store shelf in Dallas is a mystery. Our best guess, as we drank the bottle, is that someone ordered a case and never picked it up, so the wine sat on the shelf for five years until The Big Guy came along.

The Raquillet had classy green apple fruit, as well as a spicy, white pepper sort of thing going on. It was a bit richer than I expected (probably from oak aging), and had a long, subtle finish with some limestone. It was more sophisticated than Chablis, which it sort of resembled. But it was unique and a wonderful wine.

And a wonderful value, assuming you can find it. I know you can’t in Dallas, because The Big Guy went back and bought the four or five bottles that were left. In this, I’m breaking one of the blog’s rules, which is not to review wines people can’t buy. But I’m doing it because the wine’s story is as good as the wine.

Expensive wine 40: Pio Cesare Barbaresco 2007

Every once in a while, the Wine Curmudgeon is lucky enough to meet someone like Pio Boffa, whose family has owned Italy’s Pio Cesare in the Piedmont for 130 years. The only thing more interesting than the conversation was the wine.

Every wine we had (even the Oltre, which is made for U.S. palates), was worth writing about. And I’ll probably get to several of them over the next couple of months. My favorite, though, was the Barbaresco ($65, sample). It’s not enough to say that this is classic Barbaresco that will only get better with age and in 30 years should be a gorgeous wine. That’s what all great Barbaresco should do.

Rather, what struck me about this wine is that it was greater than the sum of its parts. All of the things a great Barbaresco requires were there – the cherry fruit (almost sweet, believe it or not); the black pepper spice and Italian acidity; and the mineral finish that you can still taste a couple of swallows later. But they weren’t what made it what it was. There was something else going on that was difficult to pin down. If that seems too vague to make sense, then accept it as part of the mystery of a great wine.

Frankly, given how much ordinary wine costs $65, this is a bargain. And, as Boffo reminded me several times during lunch, though this wine will improve with age, it's accessible and ready to drink now. Think rib eye and a Father’s Day dinner. Highly recommended, and one of the best ones I have ever had.

Expensive wine 39: Handley Cellars Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2009

One day, when the Wine Curmudgeon is feeling especially cranky, he will write the ultimate pinot noir rant. It will cover all of the changes in pinot over the past decade that have practically changed the definition of the varietal -- the high alcohol, the relentless use of oak, the gobs of sweet fruit, and the unnecessary addition of tannins.

Until then, I will drink Handley Cellars pinot noir and be glad someone still cares enough to do pinot the way it should be done. One of the best pinots I've ever tasted, and that includes those from pinot's birthplace in the Burgundy region of France, was the Handley 1998 Reserve. It was an exquisite wine, classic and timeless and a wonderful example of what pinot can be in California. Somehow, this 14-year-old wine was still youthful and fresh, with the traditional black cherry fruit, some earthiness, and a touch of oak. Sadly, it's almost all gone; there's maybe a case or two left at the winery.

But the 2009 ($30, sample), which I tasted with winemaker Kristen Barnhisel, is a worthy successor. It's still a little tight and needs more time in the bottle (perhaps six months?), but when it's ready, it will again showcase what Handley can do with pinot. The cherry fruit is there, as is the proper amount of oak and the Handley earthiness. And its tannins are those of pinot, not cabernet sauvignon. Highly recommended, and especially at this price.

Expensive wine 38: Inniskillin Pearl Icewine 2007

This is one of the most expensive wines ever reviewed on the blog -- $50 for a half bottle, assuming you can find it. Icewine requires bitterly cold winter temperatures, and the past couple of winters have been so mild that not much has been made. Hence, this is the current vintage, and there isn't a lot of it left.

Icewine is made from grapes that are left to hang on the vine and only picked on the coldest day of the year. Leaving the grapes on the vine concentrates the sugars, just like a raisin. Picking the grapes after they freeze concentrates the sugars even more. The result is a dessert wine of amazing qualities, somehow very sweet and yet also balanced. The residual sugar is 24.2 percent, about eight times that of white zinfandel.

So the equivalent of $100 a bottle for the Inniskillin (sample), one of the world's top producers, is not as ridiculous as it sounds. This vintage, made with the vidal grape from Canada's Niagara region, is a stunning wine, sweet and luscious and rich and overwhelming. A couple or three sips are almost enough; swish the wine slowly around in your mouth before you swallow, and savor the way the apple, pineapple, and honey flavors blend together.

Some people claim they can pair icewine with food -- cheeses and berry desserts. But, frankly, there's no need. If you're lucky enough to find some, drink it slightly chilled as dessert, and make the bottle last as long as you can. It will be worth it.