WTN: Four from California and a Sauternes

[Brad Ballinger]

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.

[FaustianBargain]

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.

We let the Sauternes soak the foie gras for a while for our class. What does it mean when you say 'The wine may have been a bit too much wine for the food.'?

I find Sauternes very sweet and I just found out about the 'noble rot' that increases the juice in every grape..making it more sweet and give that extra alcohol content than for the other still white table wines. I am only now getting the whole hang of the food/wine pairing thing...ingenious

[Carolyn Tillie]

Thanks for trying the GB Gwtz, Brad. You never know 'bout another shipment - depends on how many bottles I have left at the end of the season.

"The Season" -- BTW -- is referring to the heat. From now until fall, we shut down on shipping wine anywhere, not wanting to risk it sitting in a hot truck or warehouse for too long.

I'm sorry I didn't save an '02 Gewurtz for a side-by-side comparison with the '03. I'm curious if one could really tell the difference between a .50 rs and a .63...

Glad you liked it, but totally get the 'less-integrated' thought.

[Brad Ballinger]

What does it mean when you say 'The wine may have been a bit too much wine for the food.'?

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.

[Mark Sommelier]

What does it mean when you say 'The wine may have been a bit too much wine for the food.'?

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.

I seldom pair foie gras with Sauternes. The classic pairing is chilled foie gras d'oie en gelée with Sauternes (from Escoffier). For seared foie gras, I prefer riesling or gewurztraminer. The sweeter the sauce, the drier the wine. For savory preparations of foie gras, spatlese-auslese riesling is my choice. Since foie gras is normally served during a progression of dishes in a meal, I find that super sweet wine in the middle of dinner wrecks the palate for the wines that follow. That said, I'm sure the '75 de Fargues is a knockout. Better to try with a good Stilton or a banana split.

Edited July 7, 2004 by Mark Sommelier (log)

[Rebel Rose]

Brad, I'm enjoying your tasting notes, but I've never encountered an oaky Viognier that I liked! Please PM your shipping address and I'll send you a selection of local Viogniers--Garretson (Mat Garretson is the founder of Hospice du Rhone), Alban (John Alban grows only Rhones) and of course, Dover Canyon (Dover Dan has made Viognier for twelve years and was recently nominated for Winemaker of the Year for a 3 appellation area).

All three producers (friends, by the way), use neutral oak, second fill at least.

[Mark Sommelier]

Brad, I'm enjoying your tasting notes, but I've never encountered an oaky Viognier that I liked! Please PM your shipping address and I'll send you a selection of local Viogniers--Garretson (Mat Garretson is the founder of Hospice du Rhone), Alban (John Alban grows only Rhones) and of course, Dover Canyon (Dover Dan has made Viognier for twelve years and was recently nominated for Winemaker of the Year for a 3 appellation area).

All three producers (friends, by the way), use neutral oak, second fill at least.

With viognier, I have to admit my bias toward Condrieu. Condrieu is in general not heavily oaked with the exception of Guigal's La Doriane, which resembles California viognier in its thick texture. The Condrieu from Pichon and Vernay are great examples of the floral bouquet and medium body wines that define this varietal.

[Brad Ballinger]

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.