Pinotage - February 2014

South Africa Pinotage

Pinotage is truly native to South Africa.  It was developed in 1925 by a professor of viniculture at the University of Stellenbosch.  It is a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault (aka Hermitage).

Why these two grapes?  Pinot Noir is renowned for its aroma & flavor, but is difficult to grow.  Cinsault is easy to grow abundantly and is very disease resistant.  The hope was that the hybrid would take on the best of both grapes.  The reality is that Cinsault won.  Pinotage grapes grow like crazy!  While this is good if you are just trying to get grapes to market, it is bad for wine because the more grapes on a vine, the more diluted the flavor becomes.  Vintners in South Africa work very hard to keep yields down on Pinotage.

Pinotage rarely shows its Pinot Noir roots.  Instead, it leans toward a darker fruit, tobacco, chocolate note and flavor wine with high tannins and low acid.

Pinotage wasn't really planted until the 1960s.  Unfortunately, it was successful or popular and, with sanctions in place on the country, plantings decreased.  After apartheid, everything South African became vogue and the wine started shipping out.  Initially, the wine was poorly received in the US due to the contrast in American wine tastes and the high tannin of the Pinotage.

Add money and research and time and you get to present day.  Pinotage is still unpredictable but it is widely planted and vintners are playing with blends and new technology for wine making.

One of the top wineries in South Africa, Kanonkop, does their own thing with the wine.  They use old fashioned methods to produce their wines, including using open top fermenters.  These wines are MASSIVE and can age forever!  These are weighty, dark fruit wines with heavy tannins.

Blending is a common practice to fill in the "holes" in the Pinotage.  Cape Blend is the latest trend and the hope is that it will become synonymous with good, South Africa wine across the wineries.

We are tasting the following wines tonight:

Fairview Pinotage 2011 - $11.99 - this is the product of Charles Back who brought us "Goats Do Roam" - expect a full bodied, smooth & earthy wine. - Update - WOW!  Pinotage is amazing!  Who knew?  We liked this one and we did end up opening a bottle of "Goats in Villages" that Charles Back made and we enjoyed that as well.  This was a nice bottle.  Yummy and very drinkable at a great price point!

Groot Constantia Pinotage 2012 - $21.99 - This winery was founded in 1685.  Expect this wine to be fruity, full bodied, and well balanced.  Update - nice wine.  This was not my personal favorite of the evening, but the bottle was dry by the time the night was over.  Enjoyed by all.

Kanonkop Pinotage 2011 - $35.99 - Kanonkop wines are good upon release but cellar very well and become even more impressive with age.  Expect a big, very full wine with gobs of dark fruit and serious tannins. - Update - the hands down favorite of the night!  Oh my, this was yummy.  I can only imagine what a few years in bottle would do to this.  Since this tasting, I have tried Kanonkop Kadette which is a Pinotage blend.  OMG - it is AMAZING!  Jammy and drinkable and screams "I will get you in trouble!" which means it is a must buy.  If you are ever at Nando Peri Peri - check their wine menu for it (they give 8 oz which is like super huge!).  I will be looking for both of these at Wegmans near me very soon!

All wines had to be shipped in from Cali.  Seriously, Cali!  Pinotage selection in Virginia sucks.

We will be tasting these wines with charcuterie, hard cheeses, chili con carne (how is it chili without the carne????), lasagna, & a heavy meat stromboli.

Pictures and notes to be updated soon.

Cheers, 

Kitti

Fortified - January 2014

Madeira, Armagnac, & Cognac

Oh my, what a month this was!  Talk about learning. 

Let's start with Madeira.  This comes from Portugal.  This was the Founding Fathers' drink of choice.  There was no wine more prestigious at the founding of our nation than Madeira.  My how far we have come!

Madeira only comes from the island of Madeira.  The name means "island of the woods" and the island is geographically part of Africa but it is an archipelago of Portugal.  They take their wine VERY seriously here!

Madeira is 17-20% alcohol by volume.  This is a fortified wine.  Clear brandy is added to the fermented grapes.  It must be aged in HEAT!  It is the heat that causes the toffee-caramel character of the wine.  When I say heat, I mean 105 degrees F for 3-6 months for most Madeira.  This aging is done in a cask or a vat.  The very best Madeira and the smallest amount yearly (3%) is still aged naturally in the attics of the warehouses for 20 years or more.  After that, it is carefully cooled and allowed to rest for a year to recover from the shock and then it is aged again, usually in American Oak.  This is the BIG money Madeira.  If you have a bottle, call me, I will help you drink it.

There are 4 styles of Madeira.  Their names are the names of the grapes used, this is also called the "Noble."

Sercial - driest of all.  Grown in the coolest vineyards at the highest altitudes on the island.
Verdelho - medium dry.  A more full bodied wine than Sercial.  Grown a little further down on the mountain side.
Bual - medium rich.  Warm growing area which concentrates the sweet richness (NOT SWEET WINE).  This is the favorite of England because it is lighter than Malmsey & Port.
Malmsey - richest, sweetest style.  Grown in the warmest locations on the island and usually the south side.  This makes the grapes super ripe and gives them an astonishing richness.

Levels of Madeira:

Bulk - BLEH - don't buy and don't try it!
3 year - 3 years of aging AFTER heat.  The Rainwater style is here.  This style was created accidentally in the Mid 18th century when rainwater seeped into the casks on the beach while they were waiting overnight to be loaded onto the boats.
5 year - Reserve - blend of years, the YOUNGEST year is on the label.  If labeled "Noble," 85% of the wine must be from that grape.
10 year - Special Reserve - see above
15 years - Extra Special Reserve - see above, above
Solera - no longer made, but bottles still exist - you will pay $$$$$ for it, but it is supposedly extremely worth every cent.  If you are interested, here is one nearby.
Vintage - the ultimate in Madeira - single year vintage - aged 20 years AFTER heat!!!  (call me, I will help you with it).

We tasted a Cossart Gordon 10 year Bual Madeira.  It cost $39.99.  It was LOVELY!  No spitting or dumping of this one.  Yum, yum, yum!  We tried it with an amazing flourless chocolate cake.

ARMAGNAC

Armagnac comes from the Southwest of France.  It is right next to Cognac.  Think of it as the red-headed step child of the Cognac family.  It shouldn't be though as it has the longest history of all French brandy.  It was first made in the 15th century and used for medicinal purposes.  Let's define that.

"It was used to create a sense of well being, relieve toothaches, diminish mental anguish, and promote courage."

Because Armagnac had no navigable river, the brandy did not spread.  In the mid 19th century, a canal was finally built to connect Armagnac and Bordeaux and the brandy began to gain in popularity.

86,500 acres of grapes devoted to Armagnac.  These are divided into 3 districts.  
Bas Armagnac produces most of the wine for distillation (60%), but most of the best Armagnac comes from here. 
Tenareze - produces floral and lively wine for distillation (40%)
Haut Armagnac - mostly just wine now

The best Armagnac is more rustic, robust, fragrant, & full bodied than the top cognacs.
Cognac is mostly Ugni blanc grapes (I call it "ugly" blanc).  Armagnac only uses 55%, at the most, of this grape.  The rest is from folle blanc, colombard, and baco blanc.

Folle Blanc - gives elegant fruit & floral notes
Colombard - gives herbal notes
Baco Blanc, aka Baco 22A, - gives fullness & character

The french are VERY picky about their grapes and their wines and french law forbids hybrids!  Because of this, Baco Blanc was to be banished from the country!  Fortunately, after heavy petitioning of the government, this hybrid (old hybrid) is now legal in France.

Armagnac is made through a single distillation whereas cognac is made through a double distillation process.  Bottles are labeled by the youngest year in the bottle.
VS - very superior
VSOP - very superior old pale
XO - extra old

NOTA BENE:  Do NOT jam your nose in the tulip glass to smell this stuff!  You will get a nose full of alcohol burn.  Dip your finger into your glass and rub the liquid on the back of your hand.  Allow the alcohol to evaporate for about a minute and then smell your hand.  This stuff smells amazing on your hand!  I definitely picked up notes of pipe tobacco or a freshly opened, good cigar.

We tried Chateau de Laubade (one of the oldest houses for Armagnac) VSOP (5 year old).  It cost $39.99 at Total Wine in Laurel, MD.

We compared the armagnac to cognac.  The Courvoisier VSOP was better than the armagnac, but neither was really popular.  The Madeira was the drink of choice for the night!

Cheers,
Kitti

Nebbiolo - November 2013

Nebbiolo - Northern Italy's favorite grape!

Oh, how I adore the Piedmont region of Italy.  Wonder if it has anything to do with my adoring the Piedmont region of Virginia?  Both areas make some pretty yummy wine!

Every time I see the word "Nebbiolo,"  I hear it to the tune of "Mona Lisa" in my head.  Weird, I know, but now you will have the same problem. :-)  I like sharing stuff like that almost as much as I like sharing wine!  You don't have to thank me (I will clear it out of your head in a minute).

Nebbiolo is THE grape in the Piedmont region.  It is responsible for the most famous wines of the area and those would be the DOCGs Barbaresco (the queen) and Barolo (the king).  Barolo is so much a king that it is historically called "the wine of kings and the king of wine."  These wines are BIG and powerful.  This tasting made some of the wine club very, very happy.  These wines can age and do so very nicely.

Barbaresco is named for the region.  It is a smoother and less tannic version of the grape than the Borolo.  Tar and roses are a very common comment about the aromas of this wine when it is young.  It can be tough and short on fruit when young and really does well with a few years in the bottle.  That aging will bring out the chocolate, cherry, and tobacco that the grape and the wine are known for.  We had a 2008.  It cost $17.99 at Total Wine

Now, for the king.  Barolo is named for one of the towns where the wine is made.  This is a BIG red, rich and powerful and dry.  This can be laid down in your wine cellar (aka coat closet) and left for many, many years.  This is important because over 90% of the wine on the market today is meant to be consumed when bottled!  Most wine does NOT age well in the bottle any more.  The high acidity and tannins in the Barolo allow it to age well in the bottle.  The more age on it, the smoother it will become and the more you will notice the tobacco, truffle & chocolate scents.

This bottle is a 2009.  WS rated it 92 points.  It cost $34.99 at Total Wine.

This is a 2007.  Rated 91 points by WS.  Again, $34.99.

We could not leave the Langhe foothills of Piedmont without tasting the more price conscious relative of Barolo & Barbaresco: Nebbiolo d'Alba (Nebbiolo grape from d'Alba).  This is from the same growing region, but not from the premier acreage.  This is not an "age in bottle" wine because it is not as big and bold as its royal parents.  This is a 2011 and it cost $15.99 at Total Wine.

We paired all of this yumminess with fontina cheese, Osso Buco, & dark chocolate.

If you like your wine big and want a change from the Cab Sauv, Shiraz that you feel you are always drinking, take a stroll over to Italy and check out some of these wines.

As for that song I got stuck in your head, THIS should fix that nicely.  Again, no need to thank me!!

Cheers, 

Kitti

Blast From the Past - December 2013

December is always interesting at wine club.

Instead of the traditional gift exchange, this year we brought a wine or wine product from our past (read "pre-kids").  Everything was in a plain, brown bag.  No one was supposed to talk about what they were doing before the exchange.

Gifts were chosen in order of birthday.

Once a gift was open, the person who brought it had to explain the "past" association.

We learned a lot about each other this night.

We tasted EVERYTHING!

We also learned why this stuff is in our past.

More importantly, we learned that Paul Mason still sells wine in the carafe and you can pick it up at Safeway (top shelf, cheap wine aisle) for about $4!  That is worth it just for the carafe!  Pour the crappy chablis down the drain and enjoy your new carafe (they aren't that cheap anywhere else!)

What did we drink?

While I have no photographic evidence, the following was gifted:

Bartles & James Original Wine Cooler

Bartles & James Wild Berry Wine Cooler

Sutter Home White Zinfandel

Paul Mason Chablis

Andre Pink Sparkling Wine

Manischewitz

Christian Brothers Brandy & Diet Coke

It all sucks in 2013.

It probably sucked in 1990 or 1985.  We just didn't know it.

Growing up has its privileges!

One of them is being comfortable paying a little more decent stuff to pour in your glass.

Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah!

Next year has already been planned and it will be a totally blind tasting followed by a blind gift exchange of the wines that were tasted :-)  Reds, Whites, Sparklings are all fair game and we are going to let someone else pick them and bag them!  It will be so much fun to see if we can figure out what they are!