Auxerrois

My greatest Cal Cab list is filled with some young beasts. The pinnacle being 1999 Grace Family- Unctuous texture, like syrup and fat, with hugely concentrated cassis syrup bombarded by cocoa, baking spices espresso, so full of depth, very dynamic, constantly evolving, with a finish that lasted till the next day. Last Saterday at my store we popped a 1995 Araujo, still really young and vibrant, not quite as good as all the hype, but I definitely would not of sent it back. Where were you Klinger? My stand by is the C.J. by Phillipe Melka $34.99 and the Little Stone $15.99, both from Napa and both steals at their prices.

No doubt good Alsatian pinot noirs are very few and far in between. Besides the extremely marginal climate for pinot the whole area is on the "wrong dirt". Alsace's soil consists of granite loess on granite bedrock from the Vosges Mountains. The gamay of the only other major wine region in France that is not planted on limestone sub-soils (Beaujolais) produces simple fruity wines that generally as good as the pinots. Most the pinot ends up as rose or adding richness to some cremants anyway. For an interesting alternative pinot try Sancerre from a good producer, like Domaine Vacheron, smoky austere rasberies, yum.

Nero the one in Chicago is the only one, well, for now.

In Chateaunuf-Du-Pape it is already legal to reacidify. If all of France gets to this year I think the momentum will continue into future vintages and generaly become a regular practice. Well there be a great excuse for the boxes of cream of tartar lying around, they go hand in hand with the bags of sugar that are there in every other vintage.

I'd be wary about aging Gotim Bru, It's fun and flashy now but lacks the acid and stuffing for aging. Another flaw is the use of carbonic maceration in it's production which also shortens it's life span.

If your in Chicago come stop by Fox & Obel, I have a lot of wines for under $10, we'll findone for you. Here's my favorites: Shale Ridge Syrah $9 Colombelle (ugni blanc & colombard) $7 Conde del Valesquez $9 all the reserve varietals. Allram Gruner Veltliner $9 Cortello Tempranillo $8 La Fonti San Georgio Chianti $9 Monte Antico $9 Castano Monastrell $10 Delpiave Pinot Grigio & Merlot $9

I don't know, I think Chateau Mouton Sine Que Non has a nice ring to it. Well there's always next year.

I just looked up Mauro, old vine Grenache and Tempranillo from Castile y Leon. Guess everyones wrong sometime.

Maybe just rough for you Carema. As a participant of the mixed bag of fun I just want to make some additional comments on the wine involved. The Angelini Vino Nobile was stunning. I had tasted this vintage one before and it is still the style all Vino Nobiles should be striving for, move over Poliziano Asinone. Ellegent but ripe beautifully balanced acid alcohol and tannin, a complete package. The Perrier Jouet was complex, but as a Krug fan I feel I know how Great Champagne should age, this one was more than ready to be drunk. The Jasnieres was a rock star! The mineral quince and pear of great Chenin, with the funky verve of a New Zealand Sauv Blanc. A total mouthful, it knocked over any app. we through at it not till it harmonized with serrano ham and some slightly underripe melon. Latour Montrachet 1990, the most curious to my palate. By it's nose I thought it was oxidezed and over the hill, the beautiful hazelnut and minerals was giving way to the same gout the Champagne faced. But on the palate it was surprising, it still had some life left. The last fleeting notes of tropical fruit still danced over its lush mid, but the shear minerality of the finish, which would of been beutiful if not for the ominous note of lemon-curd and custard. On the bright side it still gained speed with the sweetbreads. The Duckhorn was actually the 95 howell mtn Merlot, not Cab. But Caremas tasting notes are complete. If only it had some more depth and power like it's Cab brother. It deffinately did not taste like Merlot, must be to cold up there. I had a weird feeling that there might be some temperature abuse in the case of the Lynch Bages. All the classic notes of graphite, lead pencil and minerals were there but everyone thought it should have had a little more stuffing. I personally have some English friends who would of gone nuts, and it was still arguably better than a lot of older Bordeaux I've had. Mauro Piorat Absolutely stunning. There's know way I thought there was tempranillo in there. Mouth filling and bold with an intergrated flavor only a couple years in the bottle can give. The bold fruit was tempered with subtle but compeling nuances of leather, dust, meat, and cat fur. Yes Carema I am allergic but thats why I pick it up so well. My suspected Cepage is: Old vine Grenache, Cab, Carignane. The Kay for the finish was great dessert. Who needs port when you have super ripe Shiraz. Big beasty brambles mint and leather with a note of pepper, all super sized. Thank you to all involved for a wonderful evening. By the way did we mention this beautiful dinner was done outside in perfect weather, out of Bordeaux Riedels in a side walk cafe. Cheers

My first experience with Finger Lake wines was relatively recently. I was blind tasted and placed the wine as Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir. Needles to say I was impressed when I learned it was a fifteen dollar pinot from New York. As a retailer in Chicago I carry two different Finger Lake products Lamoreaux and Fox Run and I eagerly await to get my hands on more quality producers. Even my customers are pretty excited about the region. Other areas produce a lot of swill too, be it California, Michigan or Illinois, but I've been starting to see qaulity all over the place. For instance, any of you had a Norton from Missouri.

Good Afternoon, I think that by making a "Vs" comparison we are all missing the true point of wine in the ultimate soul of "terroir", an individual place and moment in time. Over the last couple thousand years farmers in these countries have been planting grapes that are complementary to both there food and there climate, the same goes with their produce and livestock. Regionality, and more important, localility are the real truth behind wine, how those local flavors blend with local wine. A fresh white from the liguarian coast taste best with the local seafood. Albarino from Galacia (Green Spain) is at its peak with the atlantic shellfish. Brunello and Bistecca Fiorentino, Rioja and Roasted Pork, Lambrusco and Parmesan Reggiano, Toro and Manchago, Greco di Bianco (the dessert wine) and nut tarts, Fino Sherry and fresh squid, Barolo and truffles, ect. The list goes on and on, and these combinations are the ones that make us strive for hedonistic perfection, and in some cases devote our lives to it. And the inspiration they install give us the energy and passion to finding new pairings as international inclinations strech across borders. To sum up I think they are equal, because it is in thier histories, their cultures, and their climates, in total their world and their experiences are shared though those bottles. David PS to Craig Camp I just ordered my second six-pack of Kurni.

Carema, I can forgive you for your mis-listing of Mouton, we are only human, but I would like to point out to the discussion that even in the Medoc, with the exception of the great communes Margaux, St. Julien ect., more Merlot is planted than Cabernet. In fact most "Medoc", "Haut-Medoc", Listrac and Moulis are generally 50% to 60% merlot. In these areas, that make up the the most hectarage of land in the Medoc, the well drained gravel soil that Cab needs is not present and clay, which is the soil of choice for Merlot, is dominate. Even in appellations such as Margaux where the gravel is not evenly distributed Merlot can be the highest percentage in the blend in the lesser known Chateau. Also in Bordeaux where there are many statistics on the exact hectarage of which grapes are planted these statistics cannot be relied on to determine their cepage. Chateaus do not rely on a field blend of grapes, the very reason for Bordeaux being a blended wine is vintage variation. There for in every year the cuvee of even the great houses change. The cepage in cooler years contains more Merlot and Cab Franc, both ripen earlier, and practically zero Petite Verdot which ripens latter than Cab Sauv. And that see-saws every year with an average of only 3 to 4 vintages being very good or excellent in a decade. In fact the only Chateau that can be relied on to be 80%+ Cab every year is Mouton, and that was due to the vanity of the dead Count. I hope this is not to long for my first response but I'll try to be back soon.