Brad Ballinger

Welcome to eGullet, Citizin Cane. My favorites from California are Iron Horse, Roederer Estate, and S. Anderson (I know it is now Cliff Lede, but I haven't had any under that label). A visit to all of them is a good time. Glroia Ferrer makes sparkling wines that age fairly well, which is always a bonus. I'm not in the Schramsburg camp. I find their wines to be too sweet. Chandon is okay. Their Etoile is my favorite, and shows more elegance than their other wines. J is a great visit, particularly for the fun with food pairing. What I'm most curious about is Pacific Echo. They used to be Sharffenberger then changed their name. As Sharffenberger, the wines were reviewed very well, but that stopped with the name change. I've not had any Pacific Echo, so I can't personally comment.

Back tonight from a fantastic meal at what is probably the best restautant in the area, Red Crow Grille. The staff was wonderful and the food first rate. There were four of us total, and the theme (although unplanned) was older California Cabernet. But the first wine was a starter wine, consumed at the residence of one of the participants. 1998 Laboure-Roi Rully Blanc. This is a fairly large negociant covering a lot of Burgundy. This wine had a mature element to it, in terms of fruit aroma and flavor. The nose also revealed a fair amount of mineral, oak, and butterscotch. High level of acidity that hogged the stage from the fading apple, pear, and lemon fruit. The wine was served quite cold at first. As it warmed, and was exposed to air, it rounded out, developing some complexity. A nice wine for sipping, but perhaps saw it peak a couple of years ago. Off to the restaurant, and a great flight of Cal Cabs. 1988 Heitz Cellars "Martha's Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. Earthy elements dominate the nose. On the palate, the wine shows resolved tannins, a small amount of perillance that eventually goes away, and tart, austere fruit. Some air reveals some herbal elements, and helps the wine achieve a greater degree of balance. With continued exposure to air, I'm a little astonished at the degree to which the wine is opening up. My only problem is that there is a VA burn on the finish from the first sip to the last. 1995 Chateau St. Jean "Cinq Cepages" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. Minty nose. In the mouth and on the finish I'm distracted by an out of balance alcohol component. Aeration is kind to the wine revealing a juicier character, and diminishing the effect of the alcohol. Sweet tannins, some leather, red and black currant fruits. When I've had this wine most recently I thought it may be time to drink them up. Based on this last tasting, the wine can sit a while. 1990 Flora Springs Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Napa Valley. It just keeps getting better. This wine is (was) a stunner. Deep core of cassis coming through on the nose. In the mouth the wine isn't as "thick" as the nose would suggest, but that's nowhere near to being a complaint. The wine reveals a layered and rich fruit profile with lively acidity and sweet tannins. It still has the color of a young wine -- no way you would think it is a 14 year old wine. With air, some secondary elements of coffee, leather, cinnamon, and chocolate emerge. Beautifully layered and complex. 1991 Shafer "Hillside Select" Cabernet Sauvignon, Stag's Leap District. As much as the color of the Flora Springs was not the color of a 14 year old wine, this is so much more not the color of a 13 year old wine. It's incredibly an opaque dark purple. The nose is a powerful one of herbs, oak, spice, and smoke. Structurally, the tannins are incredible velvety, but still gripping. In short, the wine is a behemoth, especially at its age. With aeration in the glass, the wine softens, and the tannins become even silkier, but never lose their grip. The wine has a long life ahead of it, and should still improve and mature gracefully. 1996 Spier "IV Spears" Noble Late Harvest, Stellenbosch. This is a South African dessert wine made from 100% bukettraube. It was delivered to me from a co-worker in the UK who knows what a wine geek I am. The color was a rich amber. The nose was honeyed apricots, botrytis, and some raisin/date. In the mouth, the wine showed lively acidity and what had to be tannin. The fruit profile was sweet, but not cloyingly so, and was a tough pairing for the sweeter desserts. It's a wine that may fare better with cheese. Great structure and layering, though. 1995 d'Yquem. Corked. The last wine of the night and the bugger is nothing but nasty wet cardboard. Makes one question the existence of a higher power. It may be a while before I'm in the Quad Cities again, but it's nice to know there is a small but dedicated wine community here.

Like it or not, he did put Pinot Grigio "on the map" for the U.S. market.

There's another word for this.

Okay, perhaps the tag line of the post title is a bit harsh. My employer has taken me to Holland, Miami, and Singapore in the past month or so. I can tough out Davenport, Iowa, for one week. It helps knowing a fellow wine geek who can round up some drinking buddies. He assured me that I'd be welcome since I would be an excuse to get together and drink good wine. The group assembled at someone's home and we grilled ribeyes. The only theme we has was "wines that don't suck." 1996 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon, Sycamore Vineyard, Napa Valley. We started with the "mystery" wine. It was obviously a California Cab from the get go. The nose, however, did show some off aromas of band-aids. But there were other friendly notes of smoke, herbs, some earth. Medium-bodied, and hollow in the midpalate. Tannins on the dusty side. Not a blockbuster wine, but that's no big deal. It was a pleasant enough lighter Cab, but not one I'd get overly excited about. 1996 J. Moreau & Fils Chablis Valmur Grand Cru. This may come across as disingenuous since I brought it, but this wine kicked some serious ass. And it still has a long life ahead of it. Nose of lemon oil and polished steel. Plenty of earth. Loads of acid. Lemony with a small amount of melted butter. Showed more mineral the longer it was opened. Where are the scallops when you need them? 2002 Wind River Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast. The juice is from Sonoma Coast, the wine is vinified in Waterloo, Iowa. Nose of hair permanent solution and cola. VA burn on the finish as well. Nothing to hold interest in between. Violates the theme of the night. 1998 Chateau de Chamiery (A. Rodet) Mercurey. Earthy, funky, smoky, leathery. Not fruity, but who gives a shit? On the light-bodied side of Burgundy. Developed complexity as it was opened. A lighter vintage, but a wine with a bit of personality. 1999 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Aloxe Corton. Quite a bit of candied fruit on the nose that is also present in the mouth. Bigger and tighter in structure than the Mercurey. Fruit-driven. Started to develop some complexity with air, and may benefit yet from aging. 2001 Siduri Pinot Noir, Pisoni Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands. I don't know what it is with me and Siduri wines, but this nose was strong in the alcohol department. There's a faint element of cherries and herbs and then the alcohol burns the membranes of my nose. Some non-integrated oak on the palate. And more alcohol. 2002 Loring Pinot Noir, Gary's Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands. This is my first experience with Loring. The alcohol is higher than the Siduri, but it's not as out of balance. Perfumed nose that battles the oak. Very soft and not showing a lot of acidity, showcasing a mouthful of red fruits that are on the sweet side. It's a pleasant wine, but I might expect more for $45. 1999 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Oakville. Nose that shows of rich blackcurrants, spice, and vanilla oak. Tight, but exquisitely balanced. Has a way to go to open up, and I'm not going to be around long enough on this evening to experience it. I'm sure this would be a treasure on day 2, but I don't think it will see day 2. Next came a mini Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino vertical (1994-96). Had I known that this was planned, I would've packed the 1997 in my car. 1994 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino. Nice bricking color. Of the three, this one was the most austere, but not in a thin and diluted way. Nicely balanced, and a great companion to the ribeyes. Nice mineral component. 1995 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino. The consensus best of the three. If you were to round out the austerity of the 94, you would have this wine. There's more of everything here, particularly spice. It also comes across as more "mature" (whereas the 94 may be on the decline). Enough tannin to still allow one to sit on this. Wonderfully complex. 1996 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino. This wine is tight and tannic. Also shows more wood, but that may be because the fruit is being beat into submission at the moment by the tannins. My guess is this wine was a stunner upon release, and maybe it will return once the tannins lose their grip. Maybe. 1995 Hugel Riesling VT, Alsace. A pleasant diesel aroma on the nose. Caramelized tropical fruit, but on the light and acidic side, not the syrupy sweet side. Needs a good stinky cheese, which (along with the scallops) is absent tonight. But Dennis wasn't going to leave without opening it. It's a wine that I think will improve yet with age. This is report one. The same group is getting together on Wednesday night at a restaurant to drink even more. I must be one hell of an excuse. This is a good thing because I brought two other wines that didn't get opened. Now I'm the one with the excuse.

Acid of this sort will tenderize up to a point. Then it begins to have an effect that dries out the meat and makes it tough. This is why something like sauerbraten is tricky. You have the get the marinating "window" right. Too short, the meat isn't tender enough. Too long, it's dry, tasteless, and tough.

With aromatic cuisine, I like aromatic wines. For whites this means riesling, gewurztraminer, pinot blanc, arneis. For reds, this means pinot noir and cab franc. And, of course, Champagne can never be ruled out.

There is such a long-tailed study going on right now in Australia (please withhold comments about the ageability of some Aussie wines -- at least they're doing the study). But the point being made about needing real time to come up with real results is a valid one. And then, the study probably has to be done for wines from different regions. I know the Bordelaise will say "but we're different" when it comes leveraging the results from an Oz study to wines from Bordeaux.

Oh, I can't let this thread slip by unresponded to. Favorite of all is Springbank 15. I also rotate between Macallan 12, Lagavulin 16, and Laphroaig 10. A word on the Laphroaig 15 -- It downright sucks (sorry, Jaz). Tasted side by side with the 10, it is sooo lacking in character. Does nothing for me.

Don't they just drink copious quantities of Aquavit??? I know Jean, and he wouldn't waste freshly caught walleye by making lutefish out of them. And Katie is right, you need something like Aquavit to 1) give you courage to eat lutefisk, and 2) kill the taste. The best aquavit for the job is one that had crossed the equator four times.

The Twin Cities contingent of the Boys from eBob congregates monthly at various wine-friendly restaurants as an excuse to open a bunch of wines and nosh on some pretty decent chow. The wine theme changes from month to month. I had to miss the June gathering, which was German wines, but cursedly was in town for last nights South American wines theme. I didn’t have one bottle of South American swill in my cellar, so I had to go retail hunting for something to bring. The retail scene for South American wines here in the Twin Cities is fairly dismal. Two places I went to over lunch had pathetic selections. I stopped by another retailer en route from work to the dinner, and found a better selection, but still nothing special. An Argentine colleague is showing up next week with some Luigi Bosca Malbec for me. If only his arrival was one week earlier. For those who get very far down the list of notes below, you will notice a redundancy. Part of that is due to the homogeneity of the wines. But, to be fair, another part of it was due to my building lack of interest in really taking the time and concentrated effort to write more detailed notes for these bottles of plonk. There’s a lot of new oak and a higher than average amount of residual sugar in many of them. I don’t know if that is the South American perception of the North American market, the way they happen to like their wines south of the equator, or if they are trying to take market from those who are buying Australian wines under $20. Whatever. On to my personal night of hell. 2003 Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes, Cafayate, Argentina. Had I known it was going to be all downhill after this beautiful wine, I would’ve bogarted one of the two bottles that were open. Torrontes is the grape in this wine, and the wine is sort of a hybrid between Viognier and Gewurztraminer. It’s floral, has a peach pit element, but also brings on some spice. The nose shows lemon drop, honeysuckle, peach, and spice. The flavor profile is similarly complex and layered. Clean and long finish. Looking back on the even, the discovery of this wine was worth sacrificing my palate on the ones to follow. This wine runs between $10 and $15, and is worth snapping up. A good summer sipper and salad wine. 2003 Pascual Toso Sauvignon Blanc, Maipu-Mendoza, Argentina. The nose is an over-the-top blend of grapefruit, charred bell pepper, freshly-mowed grass, and popcorn. Oily on the attach and woody-astringent on the finish. To me, it is out of balance, and the oak treatment adds nothing. Others liked it well enough, though. 2001 Segú Chardonnay, Maule Valley, Chile. The first aroma on the nose was licorice. After that is was all oak all the time. 2000 Leonardo Falcone “Santa Cecilia” Tannat, Paysando, Uruguay. Dusty, tart fruit, rose petals on the nose. One of the more pleasant noses of the evening’s wines. Light-bodied in the mouth with tart fruit and acid. Once you swallow, though, there is no indication that you had anything in your mouth. The bottom drops out of the finish. It’s a pleasant wine for a picnic or casual fare, but that’s it. 2002 Broquel Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina. One of the more extracted wines of the evening. There is also a high “extraction of oak.” Lots of dill on the nose that takes precedence over the black fruit. Could be any highly-extracted oaky wine made anywhere in the world. 2000 Escudo Rojo (de Baron Philippe de Rothschild), Maipo, Chile. Grilled veggies, smoky nose. And then comes the diesel fuel. A bit reductive. Needs air. Hard to evaluate. 2000 Trapiche Malbec “Oak Cask,” Mendoza, Argentina. Oak cask. No shit. It wasn’t as steroidally oaky as some of the other wines, but this wine was still all about the oak. 2002 Norton Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina. This one didn’t show off the oak that many of the other wines did. Red and black fruit on the nose. Some vanilla. Tart, candied fruit on the palate. Fairly one-dimensional, but a wine that is easy-drinking and non-offensive. 2000 Altos “Las Hormigas” Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina. The most controversial wine of the night. People either loved it or hated it. I hated it, and the reason I did is because I firmly believe this is a wine flawed by brettanomyces. People loved the barnyard funk on the nose (there were murmurs that it was Bordeaux-like). I don’t mind a little barnyard and manure, but to my nose this wine also showed me band-aids. Not a good thing in wine. In the mouth it was metallic and alum-like, the fruit sucked out of it. I often use the phrase “tomato sauce that has reacted with an aluminum pan” to describe the sensation, and that’s what this was. But people with a high tolerance for brett won’t mind it. 2002 Michel Torino Malbec, Cafayete, Argentina. Sweat socks, caramel, sherry, candied sweet fruit. Nasty stuff. 2001 Familia Zuccardi “Q” Tempranillo, Santa Rosa Vineyards, Mendoza, Argentina. This wine shows more balance and structure than many of the others. You can even tell it is tempranillo and not just “red wine.” It still needs to come together a bit, but there is a core of sweet red fruit that stops just short of being syrupy. Decent acid. Oak is there as a component, but not hogging the stage. 2001 Carmen Petite Sirah Reserve, Maipo, Chile. The other heavily extracted wine of the evening. Nose of litter box, rye bread, and apricots. Flabby and fat in the mouth. No acid, no structure. Dump and move on. 2001 Concha y Toro “Marques de Casa Concha” Cabernet Sauvignon, Puente Alto, Chile. Dill on the nose. Better balanced than some of the other wines this evening. Average cabernet that could’ve been made anywhere. 1998 Irurtia “Ca’ del Sacramento,” Carmelo, Uruguay. 25% each of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and malbec. A wine that was more interesting than good. This was quite a departure from the other red wines of the evening, with the exception of the other Uruguayan wine. This one didn’t try and overwhelm you with extracted fruit and oak. But it was out of balance and came across as alcoholic to me. It also seemed to have been fading, and perhaps was better 2-4 years ago. If anything, it was a nice break in the action. 2001 Veramonte Primus, Casablanca, Chile. Blend of carmenere, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon. Oak, dill, and cat piss. Does nothing for me. Lacks acid and structure. 1999 Veramonte Primus, Casablance, Chile. Blend of carmenere, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot (actually listed in a different order from the 2001, but no percentages given). More of the same. More dill. More diluted. More lacking in acidity. 2001 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Colchagua, Chile. This is a property of Lafite Rothschild. Nondescript, blasé new world cab whose greatest attribute is that it doesn’t really offend. 1999 Norton Privada Estate Reserve, Mendoza, Argentina. 40% malbec, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot. A more promising nose than some of the other wines. Promises complexity of fruit and spice, and perhaps some balance. But in the mouth it’s too damn sweet. 1999 Luca Cabernet Sauvignon, Altos de Mendoza, Argentina. There’s 10% malbec in the blend. Like the Norton Privada, there is a compelling nose here. But there’s no acid whatsoever on the palate. Or maybe my palate is starting to take a beating, and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to detect more subtlety in these wines. 1999 Bodegas Lopez-Lopez Finca El Zorzal “Patrón Santiago,” Maipu-Mendoza, Argentina. Blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Perhaps the wine is a bit tired (or, again, perhaps my palate is). This seemed to show more balance and dimension than the other in-your-face wines of the evening. The tannins are a bit dusty, but it is a better food companion than many of the others. 2000 Concha y Toro “Don Melchor” Cabernet Sauvignon, Puente Alto, Chile. I believe this is the top wine from Concha y Toro, and it is better made and more complex than the Marques de Cosa Concha. There is cinnamon and coffee on the nose, in addition to the cassis-like fruit. Some spice comes through on the flavor profile. Overall, it’s still a bit on the sweet side, but there is some structure and layering. Could stand up to many $50 Cabernet Sauvignons coming out of California today. 1994 Trimbach Gewurztraminer, Sélection de Grains Nobles, Alsace. Well my palate wasn’t too shot to enjoy this beauty. And no one could locate a South American dessert wine. I know that Montes and Santa Julia make one each, but the dessert wines aren’t in the portfolios of the local distributors who carry those wines. If I were to be sarcastic, I’d say this wine had less residual sugar than some of the Malbecs. Of course, that would be untrue, but the statement goes to the conclusion that this wine has tremendous balance. Acidity is still active and lifting. Again, not overly sweet, and a wine that calls for more savory fare or cheese than for sweets. It would be a great wine with foie gras. The long finish turns a bit raisiny, but that’s not an entirely bad thing. While it could be that I just haven’t had enough South American wine (and not that I’m going to correct that anytime soon), it strikes me that these wines are wines that can come from anywhere in the world. What is unique to South America in terms of what one might want to call terroir? By comparison, one might say that California (and even Australia) have a greater focus on terroir than South America. Perhaps it’s all about growing super ripe grapes and nothing more.

Forgot about Joly. Shame on me. And not just the Coulee de Serrant. The Joly "Becherelle" Savennieres is a great dry chenin.

I stick exclusively to the Loire. Vouvray from Huet is top of the line. But also Pinon, Foreaux, Deletang, and Champalou can make good ones. Savennieres from Baumard, Pierre Bise, and Closel. A great bargain chenin is the Saumur from Les Medailles.

You can find the answer to many of your questions here. Apparently this was a late-harvest wine aged for quite some time. That's a lot of labor involved, and only the very rich could afford it. The grape was named amenian, and seems to have vanished at the hands of both Mount Vesuvius and the emperor Domitian. Edited to add -- I'm uncertain about modern wines that would approximate this wine. Perhaps a vendemmia tardive greco di tufo. But that's really just a guess.

I'm with you, Mark. I've yet to have a domestic Viognier that did anything for me. Of course, the prices for some Condrieu guarantee that not many will ever try them. I've had some from Vernay. I also like Villard, who is no stranger to oak, but it is handled well.

At least for this prepartion of foie gras, I think a wine without the power and up front sweetness of this particular Sauternes might have been better. One wine, in particular, that I have preferred to Sauternes for foie gras pairing is Chateau de Variere Bonnezeaux from the Loire. Of course, some Bonnezeaux can also bring on the sugar depending on the producer. I've also enjoyed a 1990 baumard Quarts de Chaume with foie gras, but the prep of the food was much richer. On this particular evening, it was simply seared with a light fruit reduction.

Ahhhh, the gold old days when I could get Thomas retail in Minneapolis. I still don't do direct shipment. I know I should. Perhpas I'm just lazy.

I fly KLM or Continental to Europe, "business first" class, fairly regularly. I have to say that while KLM is pretty good, it doesn't even come close to Continental. I have even been impressed enough with some of the wines on Continental that I make a note to buy. (I don't know a lot about wine. I just drink it, so I need all the help I can get.) Both do very well in the service department... friendly, efficient, and very professional. But KLM does give you those cute Delft pottery "houses" filled with that vile Dutch liquor before you land. I don't care what airline it is, I always avoid the fish. Having only flown coach on KLM (and a fair number of times at that), let me tell you it's a different story behind the curtain.

Dinner with our California wine-loving friends over the weekend. 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Viognier, Sonoma. Spicy and oaky. "Really, Brad, you think this is oaky?" "Yes, Dan, I do." I have enjoyed some Pride Viognier wines in the past, particularly for their spice. But it's been a while. This wine was low in acid, but made up for it in oak. 2002 Gundlach Bundschu Gewurztraiminer, Rhinefarm Vineyard, Sonoma. Yes, there's a joke about saying Gun-Bun GW three times fast, but the wine is more deserving of discussion beyond the self-effacing humor component. This wine was sent to me by Carolyn Tillie who thought it a shame that I had never had any Gun-Bun GW. This wine, while higher in residual sugar than the 2003, had a nice balance, and was a great partner to salad. Wonderful flowers and spice with a stone fruit core. Good acidity. I'd like to try it in a drier vintage bottling (not angling for another shipment, Carolyn -- although I wouldn't turn it down). The residual sugar in this one seemed to be more on the "outside," and less integrated -- if that makes any sense. 1975 de Fargues Sauternes. Our hosts had fresh foie gras, and this wine was waiting for it. This wine is still on the way up, in my opinion, and won't see the other side of the hill for at least ten more years. Beautiful pale ale color. Honeyed tropical fruits -- pineapple, coconut -- a bit of butterscotch, sugar still more sweet than brulee, and a wallop of acid. It went down so easy. So did the foie gras. The wine may have been a bit too much wine for the food. But in ten more years it will be a better match. 1995 Ledson Merlot, Sonoma. Soft soft soft. I had this wine last in 1998 at the winery, and it showed good structure and complexity at that time. The weave has fallen apart quite a bit since. Nothing much of interest here. 2001 Atalon Merlot, Napa. Comparatively, more structure and character than the Ledson (but it wouldn't take much). Much of the structure seems to come from oak. This is a ripe wine that has soaked up a lot of sun, making it jammy and probably appealing to the masses. But it will be like the Ledson in a few years.

I know that one of the arrival towns (and site of a rest day) is Nimes. So certainly a Costieres de Nimes wine is in order when the TDF arrives there.

No, it's not that. Marcia doesn't really care what she drinks. I have to buy wine coolers for her when I'm in a beer mood. And her companions on girls' weekend don't care either. She volunteered to take the wine with her.

Thanks for posting this. I think the treatment of sulfur (not sulfite related) is probably worth a future installment. Sulfur dioxide to hydrogen sulfite to mercaptans to disulfides. You get the idea. Maybe it leads to a reduction v. oxidation topic.

To make a generalization (but one that has some basis in fact), if you fly coach, forget about good food. The good stuff is in business class and first class. And that's who the airlines are trying to please with their menus. They don't care what the passenger in coach thinks about the food.

I admit to not being even close to knowledgeable about Spanish cheese, but I believe Calabres is a blue. I'd stay away from that and go toward a harder aged cheese. And nuts. And olives. Or simply by itself.

It would be interesting to see this list over a period of history. How much to countries move up or move down? Who is consistently at the top or bottom. A solitary data point like this doesn't reveal much. I believe in 1992 the top four were Germany, Denmark, Poland, and Ireland. If that's the case, I wonder why Poland has dropped so dramatically.