Polaner Spring Portfolio Tasting, 2008

I went to the Polaner Spring Portfolio Tasting today at Gotham Hall in Manhattan. My plan was to taste through the Dressner producers, as I cannot make it to the big Real Wine Attack tasting at Chambers Street this year - that they scheduled it on Passover is a clear affront to wine-loving Jews all over the world.

In three and a half hours I made it through most of Dressner and some other interesting wines too. But of course I missed some great stuff. Too many great people to meet with and interesting wines to linger over, growers/wine makers to talk with.

Here are some highlights:

Domaine François Pinon, Vouvray - loved the entire lineup. I definitely have not spent enough time at home with dinner and M. Pinon's wines. The Vouvray Brut was tasty as usual, but my goodness, the 2004 Vouvray Brut (only in magnum for some reason) was just fantastic. Should retail for about $60 and well worth it. I may have to grab one for Thanksgiving this year. It's richer, more profound than its non-vintage cousin, and just felt beautiful in the mouth. I also really liked the 2007 Vouvray Tradition, a forward and balanced wine that smacks of flowers and ripe fruit. And the new wine, the 2007 Vouvray Silex Noir (from vineyards with black silex streaks under the soil) was very nice too - more mineral than the Tradition. Even the 2006 Vouvray Tradition, with its oddly funky nose, was quite nice to taste. Most impressive (said in Darth Vader voice), François Pinon, most impressive.

Thierry Puzelat / Clos du Tue-Boeuf, Cheverny - a bit of a thrill to hang out with Thierry Puzelat, even if only for 10 minutes. It was so easy to picture him in a black leather jacket holding court at some hip Paris wine bar, groups of attractive young women whispering about him to each other. Heck, I'm a deeply committed heterosexual, and I found the guy kind of attractive. Did I just say that? On to the wines...The whites were a revelation, honestly. My first time tasting a wine of 100% Menu Pineau, one of those old Loire grapes that has mostly faded from memory. Not with M. Puzelat. His 2006 Touraine Blanc Brin de Chèvre Menu Pineau smelled of citrus oils, smoke, and shoe polish, and tasted great! Clean and pure, a set of flavors that I cannot describe, but totally different from what I'm used to, and wholly delicious. If you're into Loire whites, this is one to try. Puzelat recommended smoked fish as an accompaniment, or sashimi, both of which sound perfect. The 06 Cheverny Frileuse VDT (Vin de Table, what happens when the French wine authorities say the wine is not typical of Cheverny, and therefore cannot be called Cheverny) is a blend of equal parts Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Sauvignon Rosé (I've never heard of that grape either). Just gorgeous - such clean and pure fruit, so well balanced, such great aromas left in the mouth. And the 06 Touraine Blanc Buisson Pouilleux Sauvignon Vielle Vignes smelled like the Menu Pineau, but tasted like Sauvignon Blanc, in a way. Puzelat explained that when you work naturally and add nothing to the grapes, the soil actually can be more important in the final flavors than the variety of grape. This wine is living proof. I liked all of the reds too, but I won't write about them here, except to say that the 2006 Touraine Gamay "Pouille" is aged in neutral barrels for a year before bottling and it achieves a complexity and lusciousness that you'd expect from the finest Cru Beaujolais. Very impressive indeed M. Puzelat!

Domaine de Roally, Mâconnais - This is Gauthier Thévenet, son of groundbreaking Jean Thévenet of Domaine de la Bongran in Viré Clessé. I continue to find that I love any wine that any member of the Thévenet clan has anything to do with. The 2005 Domaine de Roally Viré Clessé has an intoxicating nose that screams "pure Chardonnay!" The grapes fermented very slowly for a year in the cold cellar. The nose shifts back and forth between white flowers, ripe yellow fruit, and stony minerals. And it's just delicious, too. I assumed that because of the firm structure, the wine should be aged for a while, but Gauthier Thévenet the owner of the Domaine said that it actually is better for young drinking - from now and over 5 years or so. The Bongran wines are better for long aging, he said.

Marc Ollivier's Muscadet's at Domaine de la Pépière were great, as expected. The 2007s were very new and tough to evaluate, although the "regular" 2007 Muscadet sur Lie de Sevre-et-Maine displayed its flowery and mineral charms even at this tender age. The 07 Clos des Briords was not as giving on this day, but all of the parts seem to be in place. The 2006 Cuvée Eden was just beautiful, perfect for drinking right now. And the 2005 Granite de Clisson is still the same deliciously fascinating mineral fortress that it was when I tasted it a few months ago. That wine has YEARS to go.

I would write about all of the amazing reds I tasted, but if you're reading this at work you're about to get fired. Back to work, pal. Bernard Baudry, Domaine Filliatreau, Catherine et Pierre Breton, Michel Tête, Georges Descombes, Desvignes, Brun, Maréchal, and Lignier-Michelot, and more tomorrow.

Tasting Other Blogger's Recommendations

Bloggers and blog readers recommend wines constantly and it's impossible to try all of them. But this is how I learn about new wines I want to try - your recommendations. Here are the very positive results of tasting four wines on blogger and reader recommendations over the past month or so. And now, I can recommend them to you:

The first of two were recommended back in November as part of Wine Blogging Wednesday's Silver Burgundy theme. David McDuff's discussion of André Bonhomme was very compelling. I'm always interested in finding excellent Burgundy at good prices so when I saw this at Moore Brothers in Manhattan, trying it one was a no-brainer. After all, $25 buys less than half a bottle of most 2005 village wines from Puligny or Meursault.

2005 André Bonhomme Viré-Clessé, $25, Fleet Street Imports. First thing I noticed was the unusual color - this wine had a distinct peach hue, very faint, but definitely there amidst the golden yellow. What that means, I have no idea, but seems like a good thing to me. Flowers, roast nuts, lots of minerals on the nose. Very pure and fresh. The palate is well balanced with great acidity. Apricots and citrus flavors in the mouth with lingering mineral and fleshy fruit after swallowing. There is also a hint of butterscotch in there, which makes sense in that the wine saw 25% new oak barrels. I was stunned to see 14% alcohol on the label, as I didn't sense any alcohol all. This wine improved on day 2, the flavors were richer and worked better together, the wine mouth coating and intense. This wine has great potential energy, like a coiled spring, and I bet it will age quite well. Don't feel like plunking down $80 for a bottle of 2005 Puligny-Montrachet? This could very well be your best bet.

Lyle Fass of Rockss and Fruit dipped his toe in the WBW pool for the first time that November, and highly recommended another reasonably priced wine from the Mâconnais. This bottle cost me all of $21 at Chambers Street, another no-brainer. That's about the same price as two tickets to a movie in Manhattan, and the wine is far more entertaining.

2005 Éric Texier Mâcon-Bussières Très Vieilles Vignes, $21, Louis/Dressner Selections. Rich and deep yellow color, and the aromas are jumping out of the glass. I got nuts, lemon oil, and minerals on the nose. What most impressed me about this wine is how pure and well defined the flavors are. The palate is vibrant and alive with great purity and length. Lots of fresh fruit layered on a mineral bed, and flowers and eucalyptus honey after swallowing. Lots of movement in the glass too, as one sip brought flowers, the next wet rocks, and the next ripe fruit. Another winner and another great value from the humble Mâconnais.

Alice Feiring listed some of her favorite Champagnes at the very end of 2007. I'm on a mission to try them all. So far I've located three of them and tasted two of them. First, I tasted a NV Raymond Boulard Brut Nature (non-dosage), and I wasn't crazy about it until there was merely one glass left, and then the wine blossomed into something beautiful. I sometimes forget that Champagne needs airtime too. On this, my second foray into Alice's list, I took better notes. And I loved the wine enough to buy both a second bottle AND a bottle of the 2000 vintage wine for the cellar.

N.V. Jacques Lassaigne Champagne Les Vignes de Montgueux Blanc de Blancs Montgueux, $38, Jenny & Francois Selections. This wine was so vibrant and fresh, sparkling with life. I got biscuits and citrus on the nose, all surrounded by pleasantly chalky minerals. And the palate combined elegance and grace with real power, something that continues to thrill me about good Blanc de Blancs. This one stays with you long after swallowing. We loved it as an aperitif but I can imagine it pairing beautifully with sushi or any kind of seafood, but when we were drinking it I wanted to be sitting in a meadow somewhere eating cold roast chicken and all kinds of picnic salads.

Last but not least, my pal Adam knows that I am hot and heavy with Champagne right now and he brought over a bottle for me to try. It is quite inexpensive as Champagne goes, and we were very impressed with it.

N.V. Moutard Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée, about $30, not sure who imports it. Fresh and clean nose of red fruit and pastry dough that follow through onto the palate. Crisp and precise flavors and very satisfying. Delicious as an aperitif but I could picture enjoying this with simple lean meats, like a roast beef sandwich. Call me crazy, I was thinking steak too, one of those cuts like skirt, or hangar, or flank. Yup, I think that Pinot-heavy Champs can go well with meat. So sue me.

Silver Burgundy Roudup - WBW #39

There are lots of things that I like about this edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday. There were many new participants - some newer bloggers, and also some established bloggers jumped into the WBW fray for the first time this month. I enjoyed reading your reactions to the wines of the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais, particularly from the folks who were first trying these wines, and having a good time doing so.

Not everyone loved wine they tasted, but on the whole the experience was clearly a positive one. Many delicious wines were identified, most of them under $25. Some are surprisingly inexpensive. Before getting into the specifics, here are a few things that jump out at me when looking at our notes as a whole:

• 9 out of the 14 reds tasted were from the 2005 vintage, a ripe and glorious year. But maybe the tannins in these wines have not yet begun to resolve, and the wines do not yet show balance. Some folks found their 05 red to be a bit young.
  

• Vieille Vignes (old vines) seems to have a big impact in the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais. By this I mean that the wines designated as Vieille Vignes tended to truly be a step up from their "regular" counterparts, and were almost universally well reviewed. This is probably true in most wine regions, but maybe not…a topic for a future WBW?

• 1er Cru wines were no more successful according to our tasters than village or regional wines. As I keep hearing (and learning for myself) about Burgundy - it's all about the producer. Vintage matters, so does the level of wine, but it all comes down to the producer. A good producer makes good wine...period. Grand Cru wine from a poor producer might not be as good as a regional Bourgogne made by a great producer.

So now to a summary, and then the bloggers and the wines.

WBW #39 - Wines of the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais

Participants: 36
Wines reviewed: 52
Mâconnais wines: 33
Côte Chalonnaise wines: 18
Côte d'Or wines (whoops, a la Dr. Vino): 1
Whites: 38 (30 from the Mâconnais)
Reds: 14 (12 were from the Côte Chalonnaise)
Most Common Vintage: 25 wines from 2005
Youngest Wine: 2007
Oldest Wine: 1996
Level of wines: 6 1er Cru wines; 32 Village wines; 14 Regional wines
Most Common Village: 7 wines from Mercurey
Most Common Mâcon Village: 4 wines from Viré-Clessé
Number of Mâcon villages represented: 11
Total Number of villages in the Mâcon with the right to appellation: 43
Most Common Producer: André Bonhommie, Comte Lafon, and Jean Manciat
Most Common Pricing: 31 wines were between $16-25
Least Expensive Wine: $3.99 (no lie, pal)
Most Expensive Wine: ask Dr. Weingolb
Tasting wine: Priceless
Number of Bloggers who Tasted Wine While Actually in the Mâconnais: 1
Number of You Wishing That I Just Get on with the Round Up: get over it

And in no particular order other than whites first...

Bert of the Wine Terroirs blog visits Guy Blanchard in Mercy, Mâconnais and tastes through a wide lineup of whites, including the very young 2007s. In this post you can see photos of the cellar, the producer petting his cat, the producer looking like Vincent Price, and most importantly, an amazing photo where you can literally see the difference between organically and non-organically farmed vineyards. This is Bert's first time participating in WBW, but he is a prolific blogger. Hopefully he will be back for more.

Lyle Fass of Rockss and Fruit also participates for the first time, writing about a Tres Vieille Vignes 2005 Mâcon Bussieres by Eric Texier. These are 100 year old vines (!!!) and at under $25 a bottle, Lyle says the wine is glorious, using the highly descriptive and evocative notes that he always manages to bring to the table.

David of McDuff's Food and Wine Trail reaches into his cellar for a couple of 2002's by one of his favorite producers, André Bonhomme. He tastes a Viré-Clessé and a Vieille Vignes Viré-Clessé and finds them both to be excellent, but the VV wine is deeper, bearing some resemblance to a Meursault. Want to really learn something about Viré-Clessé, a great producer in the Mâconnais, or about wine in general - check this out.

Eddie of Oeno Not Another Wine Blog, another first time participant, also tasted a wine by André Bonhomme, a 2004 Viré-Clessé. Eddie says he is still learning to trust his nose and palate, and he’s not ashamed to say that he had trouble identifying the aromas and flavors. But he liked the wine, which is a good thing. I’m sure we’ll see more of him.

Katherine at Purple Liquid also tasted a wine from Viré-Clessé, this one made by a larger négociant house. She enjoyed the 2005 Maison Chanson Viré-Clessé, and offers up a nice recipe for poached fish to go with it.

Andrea, the Wine Scamp, tasted a couple of whites and gave them both rave reviews. We're talking about an 05 Michel Cheveau Mâcon-Solutré-Pouilly (on which some jerk scooped her) and an 06 Chateau de la Greffiere Mâcon La Roche Vineuse Vieille Vignes. At $14 somewhere in the middle of Texas, this old vines wine might be the best value of the event. Okay, so it didn't pair well with her Brie and hazelnuts, but it sounds like excellent wine. It inspired the Scamp to share some great notes and ideas about cool weather and white wine - check it out.

Jeff at Indiscriminate Ideas writes about all sorts of stuff, from philosophy to food, and now, to wine. This is his first time participating in WBW and he appreciates our collective gentle touch. He found what sounds like one heck of a bottle, the 2005 Domaine Alain Normand Mâcon La Roche-Vineuse, and at $17 he says it's "worth every penny."

Joe at Joe's Wine and and Erika at StrumErika both tasted the same Bourgogne wine by A & P Villaine. Villaine is the wine maker at a little Domaine called Romanee Conti, maybe you've heard of it. This is a case where a good producer can make regional wine that rivals or exceeds "higher level" wine by other producers. Joe really liked the wine, a 2005. Erika wasn't so sure about the 2003 she drank. It was a hot hot hot year with low low low acidity...

Three people tasted wines made by the venerable Comte Lafon, a Domaine based in Meursault in the Côte d’Or. Lafon’s Montrachet and Meursault sell for LOTS of money, and are some of the more sought after wines in Burgundy. So when Lafon bought land in the Mâconnais, people rightly took it as a sign of the potential quality of the terroir.

John, the Corkdork, tasted a 2003 Comte Lafon Mâcon Milly Lamartine, and he highly recommends it, and also trying Lafon's Mâconnais wines in general. Edward, the Wino Sapien tasted the same wine from the 2004 vintage, and thought it was excellent. He had to shell out quite a few Australian dollars for the bottle, but it sounds like he got a good value.

Mike from Wicker Parker, another first time participant, also tasted the 2004. It got its third excellent review. Mike didn’t stop there though, the first wine was way too good. He also tasted two reds, both by François Raquillet, both from Mercurey: a 2004 1er Cru and a 2005 Vieille Vignes. He says the 05 VV was opened too early, but he calls it a definite rebuy that should be great down the line. And his notes on the 04 1er Cru speak for themselves - take a look.

Sonadora at Wannabe Wino tasted the 2005 Jean Manciat Mâcon-Charnay. This was her first foray into the wines of the Mâconnais and she really liked it! "A definite rebuy," she says. And this is a $16 bottle. I like her taste – Manciat is awesome.

Doug from The Inquiring Vine tasted the same Manciat wine, but his sinuses were acting up, so he leaves it to Sonadora to talk about how good it is. He tasted the 2004 Mâcon-Chaintré for good measure and liked it, but almost mistook it for a Soave.

Brooklynguy (me – your host) also tasted a Manciat wine, the 2005 Mâcon-Charnay Vieille Vignes. It is a great wine, so distinctive and satisfying, with so much development yet to come. And it cost me all of $20. I like the "regular" version of this wine very much, but the VV is a whole different ballgame.

Lenn had some trouble finding a wine, so his patient wife Nena grabbed a bottle for him, a 2004 Mâcon regional white for under $15 made by, in what is surely the second best producer name of this event, La Mere Boitier (the drinking mother?). Lenn found the wine to be interesting aromatically, but overall thought it was nothing special. Nena liked it though so Lenn is now the proud owner of 2 cases.

Dr. Vino also tasted a regional wine, an Aligoté, the other white grape of Burgundy. Whoops – this wine turns out to be made from vines near Meursault. Just goes to show you that French wine labels can be tough to decipher – even the most experienced among us can end up in Meursault when looking for the Côte Chalonnaise. No matter, Tyler enjoyed the wine. And for good measure, he tasted a 1er Cru Mercurey that he liked also.

Jack and Joanne at the esteemed food and wine website Fork and Bottle also tasted a regional white, and it seems as though they found a real winner. At about $18, the Domaine Guillemeot-Michel Quintaine “is a no-brainer at a restaurant,” and “a definite rebuy.” As always, their tasting notes give you a great sense of what to expect from the wine. And for good measure, Jack and Joanne also tasted a red from Vincent Dureuil-Janthial, a rising star in the Côte Chalonnaise. The 2005 Rully 1er Cru Vieille Vignes was full of promise, but was not yet ready to fully strut its stuff.

Speaking of Rully, Daniel at Red Wine With Fish tasted one too. He recommends the 2005 Domaine de la Folie Rully, and successfully paired it with pork chops and braised apples, but thinks it might need more bottle age.

Dave, the WineBaer tasted the 2005 Domaine Jaeger Defaix Rully and was intrigued, but ultimately the wine did not show very well. He also tasted a red wine, one from what must be the newest appellation in France, the Côte de Coucherais. Situated just to the northwest of the Côte Chalonnaise, these wines are all Pinot all the time. But sadly, the 2005 Les Champs de l'Abbaye Couchois was not all that impressive either, and since the WineBaer spent about 50 smacks on these wines, he feels a bit shortchanged. I hear that. Hopefully he will find a Silver Burgundy wine that he likes, maybe even at less money.

Farley at Behind the Vines found a wine from a reputable producer for $3.99. That’s right folks, $3.99. The fact that she bought it from a recently fired sommelier in the back alley behind the restaurant is irrelevant. The wine, a 2001 Faiveley Montagny, was probably past its prime. So she tasted a 2005 red from Givry made by Michel Sarrazin, and she liked that one much more. By the way, Farley has two more bottles of the Faiveley, and they’re yours for the bargain basement price of $2.99. Meet her behind the restaurant…

Dr. Debs at Good Wine Under $20 helped Farley find her Givry, and she found a nice little wine for herself too, the 2004 Domaine Larochette-Manciat Mâcon-Vinzelles, at under $20 of course. She liked her wine a lot, and was fascinated by the lack of fruit. Minerals, yes. Nuts, yes. Live electrical wire after a storm, yes.

Andrew at RougeAndBlanc tasted two wines - a 2005 Domaine Thomas St Véran and a red Givry, the 2003 Chofflet-Valdenaire. He found them both to be quite nice, if not terrible complex. He also offers the recipe for one of the dishes he paired with the wines, Steamed Chicken with Tiger Lily and fungus. Worth a peek, no?

Bill at the Wine for Newbies Podcast also tasted a St Véran, the 2004 Domaine de la Croix Senaillet. He rather enjoyed it, and at about $15 says it has excellent QPR.

Tim of Cheap Wine Ratings rummaged through his cellar and found two wines for this event. He thought the 2005 Caves de Lugny Mâcon-Lugny Les Charmes was fine at $13, but not a rebuy. He would rebuy the Domaine Michel Goubard & Fils Mont Avril Bourgogne at $17 though. He thought this one was fantastic - mushrooms, cigars, cherries - it's in there!

Mariëlla from Wijnkronieken, a Dutch Blog, was somehow the only person to sample a Pouilly-Fuissé, what I thought was a more popular area of the Mâconnais. She enjoys the2004 Domaine de la Collonge, and notes how different it is from a California wine she tasted. Kathleen at Wine and Stories from the Vineyard tasted a Latour Macon-Lugny Les Genievres and found that same contrast.

Garry from Tales of a Sommelier tasted our oldest wine, a 1996 JM Boillot Givry. He enjoys it and calls it a good deal off the winelist at £33 (2.5 million US dollars), although he notes that it is old, and one in three bottles is lost.

New participant DJR-S at Sangre y Pajas en Flor: Vinomadic? Because. (yeah, I'd like him to explain the name also) in Puerto Rico tasted three old wines and finds some beauty, reluctant beauty maybe, but beauty nonetheless in all three. DJR-S is a poet who loves wine. Check out this description of one of the wines: "The white Mercurey has blossomed into an amazing tightrope act of earth & oxidative notes, giving it a caramelized orange rind & apple throughline that matches a light, lingering citrus blossom nose-- with some mushroom underpinning that balances the midpalate at a near-impossible point between astringent & unctuous.

Tim at Winecast tasted the 2003 Faiveley Mercurey, and says it's a very good value at about $20. He thinks it could go a few more years in the bottle and continue to improve. Check out his notes and his podcast.

Marcus at Doktor Weingolb really went all out - he spent some serious clams on his wine, the 2004 Domaine Francois Lumpp Givry 1er Cru Crausot. And the sad part is, he was really disappointed. He gives the wine only two Lumpps. But his post is as engaging as ever.

Jeff at The Good Grape was the victim of wine-salesperson-rage and was forced to grab a random bottle and flee his local shop. His wine, the 2005 Matthiew di Brully Mercurey “La Perriere” was not at all to his liking, but he will try again another day.

Diane at Wine Lover's Journal, another first time participant, tasted a 2005 Chateau de la Tour de L'Ange, a red from the Mâconnais, and enjoyed it with mild cheese.

Dale at Drinks Are On Me, another first time participant, says the Gerard et Laurent Parize Grand Vin de Bourgogne Givry 1er Cru is a killer wine, and highly recommends it at about $25.

Serge the Concierge was not able to actually taste a wine for WBW, but he describes a producer he admires - Maison Jaques Depagneux.

And last but not least, Wilf from Wilf's Wine Press uses the occasion of WBW to remember the horrors of war (no, I'm not kidding).

Sorry for the delay in posting the roundup, and thanks again for having me as your host.

2005 Jean Manciat Mâcon-Charnay Vieilles Vignes

Wine Blogging Wednesday is upon us again, installment # 39, and the theme is Silver Burgundy, or the wines of the Côte Chalonnaise or the Mâconnais. I am proud to be your host this month - I have been an avid reader of WBW roundups and posts since long before I had a blog. In fact, and it was a WBW write up from June of 2006 that kind of flipped the switch in my brain and helped me decide to start a blog myself.

Lenn started this WBW craze over three years ago, in one of his many creative episodes of foresight and community spirit, and thanks to him for passing the host baton to me this month.

So now the wine...and what a wine it is folks! I have to start by telling you that this wine can be purchased, albeit probably not for much longer, and at few select wine shops, for about $20. This is a brilliant white wine, a Chardonnay that could go toe to toe with some from the far more famous and expensive Côte d'Or, the home of the Montrachets and of Meursault. Not to diminish those superstar wine regions by any means - they have earned their reputations because there are utterly incredible wines made there, Chardonnay that when at its best or near-best is probably unequaled by any other in the world.

But Burgundy is notoriously tough for us as consumers, as there are huge variations in quality, and it is often quite easy to spend $50 on a bottle of wine and feel very disappointed upon tasting. That's why I've become a big fan of the Mâconnais for white wines (not to disrespect the Côte Chalonnaise, but I just haven't tasted as many). I've found great wines for as little as $13 from the Mâconnais. Not great for a $13 bottle, but great wine. So I do my research and try to go to tastings and cellar a few carefully chosen whites from the Côte d'Or each year, but for the daily pleasure of drinking good white Burgundy, it is Silver Burgundy for me.

I first tasted the 2005 Jean Manciat Mâcon-Charnay Vieilles Vignes back in March and I loved it - so rich and lean and complex. Fermented in about 20-30% new oak barrels, this wine has the structure to improve with some age. In fact, it probably should be left alone for the next four or five years so that the secondary aromas and flavors can come out of their shell. But I couldn't help myself - no self-control sometimes.

BrooklynLady and I made a dinner with this wine in mind, blackfish roasted in parchment paper with tarragon, and a smooth and earthy rutabaga pureé. The wine was deep yellow-gold, sort of old looking. Had me worried - was this oxidized and prematurely gray? No, just deep and rich in color. And the nose...WOW. Intense roast nuts, wet rocky minerals, some tropical fruit that I assume comes from the oak, and something herbal, deep down in there. Very pure nose, well defined aromas, very inviting. This wine was just delicious, although not entirely ready to drink, but delicious. Clean citrus and hints of apricot or peach on the palate, very tense against the minerals and acids, and mouth aromas of flowers and quinine that persist for quite a while after swallowing. A great pairing with the rich Blackfish and the rutabage. I am so excited to open another one of these in a few years, assuming I can grow some patience.

I will post a round-up as soon as possible - looking forward to reading about your SIlver Burgundy experiences.

More Pre-WBW Appetizers

A couple more lovely whites from the Mâconnais to get your wheels spinning for Silver Burgundy, the next installment, # 39, of Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted this month right here in Brooklynguy-ville.

How about this at under $15 - the 2006 Le Bourcier Mâcon Cuvée Elena, a focused and pure wine with fresh and clean fruit, nice citrus notes, and great minerality. The 2005 version of this wine did great in the NY Times tasting panel's July Mâconnais tasting - the 06 is not as juicy and rich, but it is equally appealing for its vibrancy and tension, and its clean fruit. An amazing value too at this price - a $15 Beauty if I've ever seen one. This wine is not super widely available, which is odd because it's a Polaner wine. I bet you can find it, and if you like white Burgundy but for about $15 instead of $50, try this one. If you live in Brooklyn, I get mine at Prospect Wine Shop.

For a few bucks more, but still under $20, you should be able to get a bottle of 2006 Domaine Michel Cheveau Mâcon-Solutré Pouilly. This is sick wine, honestly, just sick. A Rosenthal selection, and Rosenthal consistently picks great stuff in my opinion. This wine poured out a heady floral ripe aroma before I even got it out of the glass, and once in the glass, just gorgeous. You'll think I'm exaggerating but I'm not - this wine could compete nose-wise with many a young Puligny that I know. It's that intense, with lemon oils and rocky minerals and ripe stone fruit somewhere in there. An amazing nose, and the palate is great too, with great balance and richness, and a bit of saline minerality. There is a crystalline tension here, and good acidity - this stuff is energetic, and it goes great with food. We had it with potato leek soup and everything harmonized perfectly. Again, I got mine at Prospect Wine Shop, but check for it near you. You could always contact Rosenthal if you had too.

Looking forward to your Silver Burgundy choices.

Silver Burgundy Dinner - WBW 39 Preview

Wine Blogging Wednesday is now only a week away now. Many people (I hope) will be tasting the affordable and interesting wines of the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais, and will share their thoughts in blog posts and emails, and I will gather and post them here. As a little preview, I want to share a bit about three interesting Silver Burgundy wines that we sampled with dinner the other night.

Thévenet is a pretty famous name in the Mâconnais. Thévenets have been growing grapes and making wine for four generations, and sometimes coming into conflict with the local governing body while doing so. One story I heard is that when the two villages Viré and Clessé in the north of the Mâconnais were granted joint appellation status, this new appellation Viré-Clessé included among its rules that wines can have extremely little residual sugar. There are all sorts of seemingly arbitrary rules for wine in France, so this is just another one right?

But it is not arbitrary at all, as it turns out. Apparently this rule prevents Jean-Claude Thévenet, at Domaine de la Bongran, from using Viré-Clessé appellation status for his magnificent sweet wines, a sought-after and highly regarded wine. Instead they are called Mâcon-Clessé Cuvee Botrytis du 04 Octobre, for example, if that was the date the grapes were picked. Did they make this rule only to exclude this wine, and if so, why? Who knows the politics of the area. But clearly the name Thévenet is an important and provocative one in the Mâconnais.

Jean-Claude is the third generation vigneron and his impressive stable of Chardonnay wines includes St Veran, a Mâcon-Pierreclos, and several other village wines, some under the name Domaine de la Bongran. Thévenet makes a sparkling wine too, a Blanc de Blancs (a sparkling wine made entirely of white grapes, usually Chardonnay).

We enjoyed the NV Jean-Claude Thévenet Blanc de Blancs, ($20 at Astor Wines) as an aperitif, and then with a salad that included fresh sorrel, radiccio, golden beets, and fresh goat cheese. Good thing too about the sorrel, as its intense lemony flavor was a good foil for the wine. When we first opened the wine, BrooklynLady was the one to break the silence - "it smells like a ripe barnyard," she said. And this was an understatement. This wine was all about the poop smell. And it never really blew off. It was tamed a bit with 15 minutes of air, joined by strong sea air and focused lemon aromas, that carried over onto the intensely, almost painfully mineral palate.

I will be honest here - I did not like this wine during our dinner, or afterwards when I snuck in another taste. But the leftover third of a bottle the next day...BEAUTIFUL. So weird when that happens, but this wine just needed lots of exposure to oxygen I suppose. Maybe it was aged in a completely reductive environment (hence the poop smell). Turns out that I've thought a lot about this wine since finishing it, and I think I must have it again.

We had another Mâconnais white with our main course, seared sea scallops with kale custard and watermelon radishes. This was the 2004 Domaine de Roally Viré-Clessé, ($20 at Chambers Street Wines) made by Jean-Claude's son Gautier. This wine was a stunner from beginning to end. The color was deep golden yellow, like a sweet wine. I decanted it about four hours before serving following David Lillie's (co-owner of Chambers Street Wines) advice. David says that the wine ferments for a year, and this provides great complexity. It was fat and rich, full of floral perfume when I first opened it. Very exciting! But it's personality completely changed when we had it with dinner several hours later. Still rich and mouth coating, but now so dry and mineral that it almost hurt. There are floral notes on the nose, a bit of lemon peel, but this is wet rocks and quinine, and this is the dominant flavor on the palate too. Very focused and angular, with lemony and quinine mouth aromas after swallowing. This was really good with the scallops and kale custard. BrooklynLady's favorite of the evening.

We popped and poured a mature Pinot Noir with our cheese course, the 1998 Hugues et Yves de Suremain Mercurey 1er Cru La Bondue, ($19, Chambers Street Wines). 1998 was a year that produced a lighter style of wines in Burgundy. It is always a treat to taste a mature Burgundy, and this was certainly no exception. To my taste, it perfectly complimented our cheeses, expecially the pungeant (read: stinky) Pont L'Eveque. The color was light rose red with no signs of rustiness. At first the nose was a bit sea-weedy, with something like rotting garbage. This toned down with a few minutes of air and the nose grew to include enticing cooked cherries and orange pith with hints of prune, mint, and toffee. Ah, the complexity of a mature Burgundy! And for under $20 - is this some sort of a joke?!? The palate was light but quite intense, echoing the nose. Broad and mouth coating, and the tannins do not seem to have fully resolved yet - this could even go a bit longer. Why bother though - it's drinking beautifully now and it's wise and gracious in its old age.

Think of this: I paid less than $60 before taxes (and before case discount) for these wines, three interesting and high quality wines of character and substance, each offering lots of pleasure. And this is Burgundy folks, where one bottle can easily cost $60. But this is Silver Burgundy, and hence the savings. I hope this whets your appetite, and that you will get it in gear and participate in WBW #39.

WBW # 39 Announced - Silver Burgundy

What do you think of when you hear "Burgundy?"

I think of endlessly beguiling and beautiful Pinot Noir, and also of Chardonnay - crystalline, tense, and rich. I think of Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romaneé, Gevrey-Chambertin, and the storied villages of the Côte de Nuits, and also of Puligny, Meursault, Volnay, and the other superstars of the Côte de Beaune.

Then I come back to planet Earth, where I cannot often afford to indulge in the wines of the Côte d'Or, the Gold Coast. There are a few in my cellar, and I agonize over opening them because they are so special and so dear in price. For many of us, these are not everyday wines.

What if you want beautiful Burgundian wine, but you're not in the mood to agonize? What if you're spending about $12-25 per bottle? Is this even possible?

That was just a rhetorical question, as the answer is most emphatically YES. There is great Burgundy wine to be had at those prices, and a great place to start is outside of the Gold Coast, a bit further south in what I like to think of as Silver Burgundy. The Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais are two regions where excellent wines and reasonable, sometimes downright cheap prices can be found. And this is the theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday #39 - taste a bottle(s) of Silver Burgundy, wine from either the Côte Chalonnaise or the Mâconnais.

Some of you are wondering "well why did Brooklynguy exclude Chablis and Beaujolais from his Silver Burgundy thing?" Here's why: Chablis is unique, and probably deserves its own WBW event. Whereas whites from the Côte Chalonnaise or the Mâconnais tend to be similar in style to the Côte d'Or, Chablis is really doing its own thing with Chardonnay. And Beaujolais...well Beaujolais definitely deserves its own WBW, and it's been getting some blogging attention lately already. If Chablis and Beaujolais are open game then there's just too much to choose from. This way, we're going to develop an extensive set of tasting notes and experiences with a specific set of interesting and affordable wines. So I'm sticking with the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais. Don't worry, you're gonna love it. And if you don't, talk to Lenn - he's the one who allowed me to host.

Okay, so here's some info about the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais. The grapes are the same as they are in the Côte d'Or - overwhelmingly but not always Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. And as in the Côte d'Or, there are several levels of wine based on the status of the vineyard, from basic Bourgogne (grapes from anywhere in the region), to village level (grapes from vineyards that are entitled to "village status" in that village), to 1er Cru (grapes from 1er Cru status vineyards that supposedly make wines that are consistently superior to their village and regional comrades). There are no vineyards with Grand Cru status in either the Côte Chalonnaise or the Mâconnais, and there are no vineyards with 1er Cru status in the Mâconnais.

Many people feel that the Côte Chalonnaise is better for red wines, and the Mâconnais is better for whites. That is only a general rule though, and there are certainly exceptions.

In the Côte Chalonnaise "entry level," or regional wines carry the name Bourgogne or sometimes Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise on the label. Regional wines in the Mâconnais are called Bourgogne, but can also be called Mâcon, Mâcon-Villages, or Mâcon-Supérieur. These wines should be quite inexpensive and depending on the producer and to a lesser degree the vintage, can be of surprisingly high quality.

There are five village appellations in the Côte Chalonnaise - Bouzeron, Rully, Mercurey, Givry, and Montagny, and village level wines will carry one of those names on the label. Bouzeron, created in 1979 and the youngest of the appellations, is only for Aligoté. This is the grape traditionally used to make a Kir, the delicious aperitif in which a little bit of cassis liquor is put in a wine glass and then filled with Aligoté. But some of the whites of Bouzeron are far too good to "waste" on a Kir. Montagny is the other all-white-wine appellation of the Côte Chalonnaise, and its Chardonnay can be every bit as complex and exciting as those from its more famous northern neighbors in the Gold Coast.

Rully is just south of Bouzeron and produces reds and whites made of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Mercurey is probably the rock star of the Côte Chalonnaise. Its reds are indeed powerful and complex, and if you're not careful they might trash your hotel room. There are also excellent reds to be found in Gevrey. These three appellations, Rully, Mercurey, and Givry have 1er Cru status vineyards.

Village level wines In the Mâconnais are usually called Mâcon-something or other - the something or other is the name of the specific village. Like Mâcon-Charnay or Mâcon-Lugny. A few village wines are called Pouilly-something or other, like Pouilly-Fuissé. There are also village wines from St. Veran and Viré-Clessé, in the far north of the region. As you may have guessed, there are way more than five village appellations in the Mâconnais. In fact, there are 43 villages with their own appellation. There are great white wines hiding in these villages that might set you back, maybe $15.

Here are two more places to read more about the Côte Chalonnaise or the Mâconnais:

Eric Asimov's tasting panel recently tasted a load of 2005 Mâconnais whites.

The Wine Doctor, as usual, offers a great guide to the region, and some suggestions on producers to look for. He sadly calls his guide "Chablis and the Lesser Regions," but that's all relative - lesser than the Grand Crus of Musigny, yes. But excellent wines nonetheless.

Okay, so you have more than four weeks from today - go out and taste some wine(s) from either the Côte Chalonnaise or the Mâconnais, write up your post, and then email me at the address in my profile on or not much later than Wednesday November 14th with the link to your blog and to your post. Not a blogger but want to play WBW #39 anyway? Well email me your notes and I will post them too. Big shot wine writer, but want to get in your two cents? Well c'mon in - the water's warm and no one will think any less of you - quite the contrary.

WBW #36 - Naked Chardonnay

Happy 3rd anniversary Wine Blogging Wednesday! And congrats Lenn - you started something truly extraordinary here. People from all over the country and all over the world look forward each month to participating in and reading about Wine Blogging Wednesday. And why not participate? You don't even have to be a blogger. All recent hosts have invited non-bloggers to join in, sending reviews and experiences with whatever the theme wine is that month.

An online community of bloggers sharing experiences with certain wines each month, and inviting all interested parties to join, to be bloggers if only for that once a month. We all taste something, we all learn something, we all read each others' work. A simple idea, but very elegant and effective. Lots of people who might not otherwise be interested take the wine plunge because of WBW. I started a blog myself because of a Wine Blogging Wednesday post I read on Fork and Bottle, actually.

So again Lenn - happy anniversary to WBW and thank you for bringing this pleasure to us each month. Many more...

So this month's theme is Naked Chardonnay, or un-oaked Chardonnay. Why specify un-oaked? Because Lenn is some sort of freak? No, friends, not the case at all (with regard to wine, anyway).

From the late '80s through the late '90s (all dates are approximate, and cannot be confirmed) Chardonnay was generic swill that the masses got when ordering white wine. No reason to ask who made the wine or where it was from. "Just give me a Chardonnay. And you know what, make it a spritzer." How did it get that way? A load of producers in California were fattening and candying it up, allowing it to see plenty of new oak and encouraging malolactic fermentation to convert the sharper malic acids into smoother lactic acids. The end result often was described as rich and buttery. People went nuts for it.

I guess people here weren't ready to drink Chardonnay in its unadulterated form, with its steely minerals and strong acidity. That wasn't the thing people were looking for when they asked for a Chardonnay. Gone was the vibrant acidity and the slender frame, the mineral character. It was all about buttered popcorn, caramel, toffee, and other aromas and flavors that have little to do with the grape juice and more to do with the application of oak, malolactic fermentation, and who knows what other manipulations.

There are still folks who swear by huge buttery Chards, but it's not what most of us are drinking. And the folks ordering a glass after work at their power-drink sessions or at dinner with friends, well last I checked it was a generic Pinot Grigio they were asking for, but I'm not up on the latest trends.

Slowly but surely, lots of people begin to remember and seek out Chardonnay - true Chardonnay, wines that express that grape's character. Steel fermented is a great way to experience Chardonnay - nothing in the way of the juice. That said, there are plenty of examples of great and true Chardonnay that do, in fact, see new oak. Judicious application of oak is a sign of great skill in a wine maker. Heck, they've been making incredible Chardonnay in Puligny, Chassagne, and Meursault for over 100 years and they're definitely using new oak.

So why naked or un-oaked Chardonnay? I guess it's a way of rejecting the buttered popcorn style of the Gordon Gecko era. A way of saying "don't forget about Chardonnay because it is wonderful and it's sitting right under your nose at every price point and you should try it again."

I tasted two un-oaked Chardonnays for the 3rd Anniversary of WBW, both from Burgundy, but not from the Cote d'Or. A 2005 Chablis and a 2005 from the Maconnais. Both of these are regions that can provide good value in an otherwise very expensive wine locale. You probably saw Eric Asimov's recent article describing a tasting of 2005 wines from the Maconnais. At least one of the wines described in that piece, the 2005 Jean Manciat Macon-Charnay wine is both un-oaked and absolutely delicious, and at about $17 at Chambers Street, it's a great value. But back to my wines...

For some reason I decided that we would taste them blind. It's the 3rd anniversary of WBW - why not celebrate? Brooklynlady and I enjoyed a delightful dinner on the deck last weekend - grilled Spanish mackerel sprinkled with sea salt, fresh farmer's market bi-color corn on the cob, and a green salad. We bagged the two wines and got to it.

2005 Litaud Macon-Vergisson Domaine des Vieille Pierres, $14 (Chambers Street Wines). Blind I thought this was the Chablis, as it was leaner and more mineral than the other wine. It had distinct citrus and fennel aromas and flavors early on. Interesting, but we both agreed that the other wine was better at that point. It was obvious to me, though, that this wind needed time to unravel. A taste near the end of the meal didn't show much change. I pump sealed the wine and left it in the fridge over night. Then my pal Nick came over for lunch the next day and WOW - the wine had really blossomed. Rounder with a fuller texture and mouth feel, and well balanced with fleshy stone fruit - peaches maybe - hanging on a gently mineral and acid frame. Delicious and crisp, excellent with our lunch of pasta with fresh tomatoes and pesto.

2005 Domaine Boudin Chablis, $19 (Chambers Street Wines).
This wine was fuller bodied to begin with, with aromas of citrus and stone fruit. The palate was rich with sweet fruit and there was a slight pleasant smokiness on the finish. I read in the recent Burghound newsletter that Chablis in 2005 in many cases is more about Chardonnay than about the terroir that is Chablis. I take that to mean less about seashell minerality and lean citrus, and more about ripe fleshy fruit. Well, it certainly fooled me, as I was certain that this was not the Chablis.

We preferred this wine with our rich and oily Spanish Mackerel and sweet corn, and we drank more of it than of the Macon. I should have pump sealed the last third of the bottle, but I never got to it and instead just corked it and put it in the fridge. The next day at lunch with Nick (a guy who couldn't care any less about wine), I poured him tastes of both so he could choose what he wanted with his pasta and he unhesitatingly picked the Macon. I was surprised - the Chablis seemed more accessible. But I hadn't sealed it and it didn't hold up well. The fruit had faded and the texture was kind of thin. But the Macon had come into its own, and was perfect with lunch.

Thank you again for WBW Lenn and also to everyone else who participates by posting and reading. Looking forward to many more.