The Wine Camp Blog

It was a little sad. Our host pulled out a bottle of 1992 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon and poured it around the table and we all immediately raised our glasses to the memory of Robert Mondavi, who recently passed away. The wine was lovely, everything a mature cabernet should be with a firm elegant character, a wonderful cigar box nose and that long, linear, intellectual finish that defines the variety at its best.

The sad part was not the passing of Mr. Mondavi, who lived a full and meaningful life into his nineties. It's hard to think of someone who lived a fuller life and no one left a bigger imprint on the American wine industry. The sad part was a wine blog post I read earlier in the day that grumped away about all the coverage of his death, wondered what the big deal was all about and why he should care. Writing a wine blog and not knowing about Robert Mondavi is like writing a blog about American history without knowing who George Washington was. How can a wine writer that doesn't understand the immense impact of Robert Mondavi provide meaningful commentary on the American wine industry? They can't and that's a little sad.

Understanding the sublime art that great wine can become is more than pulling the cork and giving it points. In every bottle of California wine that achieves greatness there will always be a bit of Robert Mondavi. To not understand that is to not fully know or appreciate that wine. It is the human spirit that raises wine from a beverage to an emotion.

We can be assured that there have been thousands of corks pulled from treasured old bottles of Robert Mondavi's wines in the last week and tens of thousands of glasses raised in his honor and memory. I can't think of a better tribute.

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I admit I really out of it when it comes to California wines. I just don't drink them as there are so few I enjoy. There are also California wines I love like: Calera, Alma Rosa, Edmunds St. John, Iron Horse, Corison and Spottswoode to name just a few. However as the number of wineries I really enjoy are indeed few, I don't pull many corks from bottles of California wine.

Forced into a hotel restaurant dinner due to the late hour of my arrival, I decided to try to be open minded and give The Golden State another shot and ordered a glass of 2005 Clos du Bois Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, which my host for the evening, Marriott, was offering for $15 a glass and $50 a bottle. I mean, at that price it must be pretty good, right?

The first sip was smooth enough, although there was little varietal character. My taste buds now awakened, the second sip revealed much more. This wine tasted, for lack of a better word: cheap. It was like the awful under $10 California Cabernet stacked up at your local grocery store. My righteous indignation meter was off the charts. How could Clos du Bois dare foist such a mediocre wine on consumers at such a price!

Upon returning to my room I checked wine-searcher.com to find the retail price of this rip-off only to find this wine sells for around $13 a bottle. That means Marriott is paying about $7 a bottle (or less). What we have here is rip-off build up. First of all, this weak effort by Clos du Bois would be overpriced at $4 a bottle, but, perhaps, the Marriott has even more to be ashamed of as, instead of offering their guests a decent glass of wine for $15, they offer only wines they can cut a deal on.

How does this happen? Well Clos du Bois is owned by Constellation Brands, which describes itself as " a leading international producer and marketer of beverage alcohol brands" (that's inspiring) and "the largest by volume wine producer in the world" (doesn't that excite your taste buds). Besides wine this massive company sells beer and spirits. Conglomerates like this come in and set up all sorts of cross-brand deals with national chains like Marriott and often incentives that, shall we say, don't meet the letter of the law have been known to change hands. However (ahem), I'm sure this did not happen in this case.

Brands like Clos du Bois are industrial wines at their worst. They are bad wines and bad values that exist and sell only because of the marketing muscle and money behind them. They also exist because national chains like Marriott are too lazy or too cheap to put in place decent wine programs.

You can be sure you'll find the folks from Constellation and Marriott partying down together in Vegas as this year's WSWA convention. After all, what better place is there to cut a deal than in Vegas.

Not being a big fan of California wines these days, I did not expect much when I pulled the cork, but the wine soon converted me. It was certainly rich and full-flavored, but there was an underlying structure and a lot more to grab your attention than simple fruit. This was a damn good cabernet as it was very varietal and had personality, but best of all, the second glass was even more interesting and enjoyable to drink than the first. My instincts led me to check out the pointy rankings awarded this wine by the major critics. Sure enough, I was right as the point rankings hovered in the high 80's with the top wines hitting that magic number 88.

The reality is that many (if not most) of the wines that are really wonderful to drink with food are rated in the high eighty point range by The Wine Advocate and The Wine Spectator and other major wine publications. We all owe them a debt of gratitude for this service as their reviews are keeping high alcohol, oaky, over-extracted wines designed for pointy reviewers instead of dinner at the highest prices, while the very best wines are held to more reasonable price points. While those suckers are out there taking out second mortgages to grab the latest Screaming Eagle, we can grab up cases of wonderful wine for what they pay for bottles. The dangers of buying these highly rated wines with scores as high as their pH can be found in this previous post.

Somehow we need to shift our concept that the very first sip of a wine tells you more about its character than the second glass. Considering that's not likely to happen in a Wine Spectator world, we'll just have to save money and enjoy the fact that many of the best wines don't make it into the hallowed 90 point range. The point about these points is clear to anyone who knows anything about statistics. That is while there is statistically no difference between a 90 point wine and a 88 point wine, there almost certainly will be a difference in price.

These particular 88's came from the Dry Creek Estate Vineyards of Michel-Schlumberger, a brand name that must cause their marketing director migraines and proves that naming a winery after yourself is not always a great idea. I first visited this estate years ago when it was simply Domaine Michel, but with the arrival of current owner Jacques Schlumberger, of the famous Alsatian winemaking family, the name morphed into its current hyphenated form. However, this is bonus points for frugal consumers as the combination of a clumsy name with under 90 points reviews is a positive boon when the wines are this good.

• Cabernet Sauvignon, Deux Terres, Estate Bottled, Dry Creek Valley, 2004 - A lovely structure with great balance and well integrated tannins. While it will improve for years, this wine is approachable now. I found my nose drawn to the glass again and again as I tried to identify each refined nuance. While decidedly a California wine, this is a wine made by someone who loves great Bordeaux.
• Merlot, , Estate Bottled, Dry Creek Valley, 2004 - Here is a wine that reminds how good a merlot can be. Fragrant and soft while maintaining an edge that keeps the wine alive and delivers a long, complex finish.
• Syrah, Estate Bottled, Dry Creek Valley, 2005 - Appropriately big, but not over the top.  You won’t confuse this syrah with grape concentrate. Meaty and oaky with a firm structure and more than enough fruit to carry the alcohol. I liked this wine quite a bit as it’s so hard to find a California wine that knows how to be big with dignity.
• Chardonnay, La Brume, Estate Bottled, Dry Creek Valley, 2005 - Loaded with rich fruit, yeasty lees, mineral and light toasty oak aromas and flavors all tied together in a tight package. You have to wonder why more California chardonnay does not taste like this. Proof that chardonnay can be both rich and structured.

Recent wines I’ve enjoyed:

• Weiβburgunder, pur mineral, Trocken Franken, Fürst, 2006 - Pur mineral indeed.  This is a razor blade of wine with electric acidity and flavors that slap your taste buds awake. Served with fresh Dungeness crab it was an amazing match. It took me three days to finish this bottle and it never changed a bit.
• Riesling, Winninger Uhlen Kabinett, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Freiherr von Heddesdorff, 2005 - Bright and refreshing and a wonderful aperitif. Clean apricot with just a hint of petrol, I enjoyed the first two glasses as an aperitif on two days after work and finished the bottle with some Thai carryout. I think it is better to drink this younger rather than cellaring it as it seems all about the fruit.
• Pinot Noir, Littorai, Sonoma Coast, 2005 - One of the best California pinot noir wines I’ve tasted. Great balance, weight and structure. One of those pinots that deftly blends both bright fruit and funk into a wine of unending interest. The finish lasts longer than you can wait to take another sip.
• Pinot Noir, Walter Hansel, Hansel Family Vineyards, Cahill Lane Vineyard, Russian River Valley, 2005 - An excellent pinot noir that had the unfortunate luck of being served next to the Littorai. However, this is an very good pinot noir that exhibits what could be called the best characteristics of a balanced California style. Rich without being jammy with an lush balance and a lingering finish.
• Syrah, Dry Creek Valley, Michel-Schlumberger, 2005 - Appropriately big, but not over the top.  You won’t confuse this syrah with grape concentrate. Meaty and oaky with a firm structure and more than enough fruit to carry the alcohol. I liked this wine quite a bit as it’s so hard to find a California wine that knows how to be big with dignity.
• Nebbiolo Langhe, Serralunga d’Alba, Germano Ettore, 2005 - A real classic angular nebbiolo with tannin to spare. So many nebbiolo wines these days seem to try do disguise themselves as zinfandels these days, it’s wonderful to taste a wine like this that lets the true character of its variety sing its own song. This wine will be much, much better in two or three years, but I drank my three bottles anyway. Note to self: buy more ASAP.
• Rioja Riserva, Muga, 2003 - What’s the deal with Rioja? The overt oaky character that I would hate in most wines just seem to work in Rioja. Muga is one of the premier estates in Rioja and this wine does not disappoint. Fragrant and elegant with a sweet oaky character that slides silkily across the palate with an underlying acidity that lifts and brightens the rich oaky fruit.
• Brandy, Germain Robin, Anno Domini 2000 - I’m a long time fan of the California brandies produced by Germain Robin, but I had not heard of their 2000 Anno Domini when a bartender friend recommended I give it a try. I was stunned at the quality of this brandy, which literally blows all the big commercial Cognac houses out of the water when it comes to quality. The depth and complexity displayed by this spirit cannot be overstated. Except for a few producers, buying Cognac is a waste of money these days when there are spirits like this outstanding brandy.
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Brilliant light ruby with touches of garnet. A nicely complex nose with hints of toasty oak, caramel sugar and black tea. Good ripe fruit on the palate, with tar and burnt wood notes over bright bitter cherry fruit. A lovely finish dominated by tea, smoke and a touch of vanilla. Very nice. Drink over the next 2 to 3 years.

What a lovely wine. Deep ruby in color, but still translucent. Expansive velvety nose full of spices, violets, vanilla and a rich earthy bittersweet black cherry fruit. Velvety and creamy on the palate, it still packs a crisp acid bite to hold it all in balance. The finish is very long and makes you stop and experience the full sensation of each sip. A shade hot in the finish, but the other qualities of this wine more than make up for this slight fault. It should age beautifully over the next five or six years. Expect to pay big bucks if you are lucky enough to find a bottle.