Top 10 of 2009

Looking through my notes for the year, the following are my favorite wines of 2009 (note: not highest scoring wines, some of these are on the list for their quality to price ratio).

• 10: Mendoza Station Torrontes 2008. For under $6, it's a crisp, clean white from a region best-known for it's heavy reds, and it's insanely tasty. One of the very few wines that I've bought more than one bottle of this year.
• 9: San Andrea in Colle Il Rosso 2007. One of the best inexpensive Tuscan IGT's that I've had. Period. Again, one that I bought more than one bottle of; the perfect pairing for this one is a couch and a TV! Roughly $9.
• 8: Nino Franco Prosecco Rustico. My favorite Prosecco of the year, wonderful white peach and spice notes, surprising intensity and complexity out of a wine that most people think of as Champagne's poor cousin, showing how Prosecco can really stand on it's own. About $18.
• 7: Pertois-Moriset Grand Cru Champagne. Breathtaking blanc de blancs, from Le Mensil Sur Orger (home of Champagne Salon, and where Krug sourcers their Chardonnay). A surprise; generally I dislike blanc de blancs, as they're so think and over-acidic, but this one has a bit more weight on the palate, and the acidity is better balanced. Hard to find (only 250 cases were imported), but a great argument for RM Champagnes. A steal at $35. As a note, they also make a vintage -- the current release is the 2000, pictured, but it's even harder to find, as only 75 cases came into the US.
• 6: Titus Chardonnay 2007. Opulent, plush Chardonnay from Carneros. This is a Rombauer-esque wine for half the price; wonderful ripe golden delicious apples, vanilla, and buttercream. They only make about 500 cases of this a year, but if you can find one, a bottle should set you back about $20, even though it's worth more.
• 5: Coelho Pinot Noir Paciência 2006. When I tasted this, my immediate reaction was "so, this is why people keep going on about Oregon pinot..." It was spicy, full, and absolutely, insanely tasty. Fairly small-production (Coelho makes about 2500 cases a year), and $35.
• 4: Château Doisy-Védrines 2005. An absolutely amazing Sauternes, powerful, with spot-on characteristics of the type -- including the "gym sock" note in the nose. At just under $40, it's a pricey dessert wine, but with some blue cheese or pate, it's an amazing experience and I highly recommend it.
• 3: Pierre Amadieu Grande Romaine Gigondas 2006. It's like mature Châteauneuf-du-Pape, at half the price. Gigondas is my favorite "hidden gem" appellation of the Rhone, offering wonderful wine with the power and depth of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but since it's not as well-known, the wines from there cost less than half. This one was $22.
• 2: Thorne-Clarke William Randall Shiraz 2005. A monster of an Aussie shiraz, but amazingly well-balanced. Is it over-the-top, huge wine? Yep. Do I want another bottle? Yep. Expensive, at about $40, but worth it.
• 1: Château Haut-Bages Libéral 2006. One of Wine Spectator's top 100, and I can agree with that assessment. A rich, deep, chewy wine, one with a breadth and complexity that I found amazing. Young now -- I'd say drink 2012-2020. The most expensive wine on the list, at $45, and worth every penny.

What would your top 10 of 2009 be?

Image from Austin Keys, used under Creative Commons Sharealike 2.0.

Wines for summer.

I spent the weekend out and about doing touristy stuff in the Florida heat, and it got me to thinking, "what wines would I like for this?"  

First thing I'd look for in such a wine would be chillability -- I don't want wine that has to be served at room temperature, not if it's hot out.  Much better is something I can throw into (or onto) a cooler of ice to keep cold and chill me down.

Next thing I'd want would be low alcohol levels; when it's hot out, I don't want my wine to be heavy, and the lower the alcohol level is, the lighter feeling the wine is.

Finally, a bit of fizz might go well; there's nothing quite as refreshing as some bubbles!

So, here's a dozen wines to get you through the summer:

1. A good sweeter Riesling; anything from a QbA, like Dr. L (Dr. Loosen's QbA), to a good Einzellagen (again, I'm a fan of Loosen's Erdener Treppchen Auslese), it's all good.  Riesling like this is incredibly great just for sipping while watching a sunset, or with light food, especially seafood and fresh vegetables.
2. Chilean Sauvignon Blanc; not quite as juicy as the New Zealand version, but quite excellent in general.  Also about half as expensive (Chilean runs between $7 and $11 in my local wine store, while NZ costs between $9 and $27 or so), so it's perfect quaffing wine.
3. Cava.  Nothing like light, fizzy, and cold to take the edge off of the summer -- not to mention how well Cava goes with light foods!
4. Pinot Noir.  I'm a fan of Monterrey as a region, especially for value.  Just a hair lighter than Russian River or Willamette in style, but with great flavor intensity.  Serve them slightly chilled.  I find half an hour in the fridge does them wonders, and I often leave them on top of -- that's "on top of", not "buried in" -- ice in a bucket.
5. A rosé.  Pink  ≠ sweet -- the sooner we, as drinkers, get that through our heads, the better (not that sweet = bad, but too many people dismiss all rosé as the same as White Zin.  Not so!).  Dry rosé is perfect picnic wine; it goes with almost anything, from ham sandwiches through a plate of shrimp and scallops!  The ideal, for me, would be a Rosé de Provence, but there are great New World rosés as well -- a personal favorite is Elizabeth Rose Rosé, a great Syrah-based wine.
6. Vihno Verde.  Slightly sweet, slightly effervescent, low-alcohol, high acidity, and best of all inexpensive ($5 to $9 in my local store)... what more could you ask for in a wine for relaxing by the pool!  Serve it ice cold.
7. Tempranillo.  Personally, I like this one from Toro, but this grape in general is great with grilled meats and barbecue.  Slightly higher-alcohol than the former six suggestions, and not as much for being chilled (although, a couple of minutes in the fridge does wonders for this, too!).
8. Unoaked Chardonnay.  The best in the world, in my opinion, come from Burgundy (inexpensive Burgundies are almost all either unoaked or use neutral barrels -- ask at the store if you can't find one), but there are great examples from Argentina, Australia, and even some from the US (although we do still have a bit of an oak fetish in our Chardonnay).
9. Gamay.  This generally means Beaujolais -- and if all you have experienced from Beaujolais is Beaujolais Neuveau... give it a shot.  Cru Beaujolais is a wonderful wine (and generally under $20), so try a Moulin a Vent, or a Fleuire!  Dryer, much more complex than you wold think, enjoyable food wine.
10. White Bordeaux.  This is wine made from Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, and Semillon; much more mineral in style than New World Sauvignon Blancs, and a much more elegant food wine -- a good white Bordeaux with fresh bass fillets is heaven.
11. Torrontes.  I posted about this grape a while ago, but it deserves some more attention; it's perfect for summer cocktails!
12. Rhone wines.  Both whites and reds; the reds go perfectly with grilled steaks, while the whites would be beautiful with pork chops.

So, there's a mixed case of great wines for summer -- mostly white, with a rose, and two or three reds.  What will you drink for summer?

Image from Wine-Community.It.

Get a bit exotic...

Sometimes, it's good to go off the beaten track with a wine; most people have a list of "safe" wines, the familiar.  For example, most wine drinkers know the major white grapes (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, perhaps even Viognier and Chenin Blanc).  So when was the last time you tried something new?

Enter Torrontés.  It's a grape grown primarily in South America, mainly Argentina, although I've seen Uruguayan examples of it as well.  It's a grape that gives you a surprise when you drink it; it smells very riesling-like, showing peach and crisp pear, with mineral undertones, while tasting pretty much wholly unlike that.  It's generally vinified dry, and the major flavor component tends to be crisp, under-ripe pear, with good acidity and some mineral.

Great wine for sipping during the summer, especially here in the warmer climes of the Gulf Coast of Florida.  Chill, pop, and pour.  Yum.

The best part?  I've never seen a Torrontés that cost more than $14.  At my local wine store, they range from $6 to about $12.  So, they squarely occupy the region that Suavignon Blanc used to, before everyone began drinking New Zealand.

Photo from Wikipedia, used under copyleft.