At dinner on Tuesday evening I was reminded how much I love Châteaneuf-du-Pape Blanc by a bottle of 2004 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe.  We choose it as a white to cover the entire nine-course Chef’s tasting menu at Crush, a restaurant that isn’t scared of meat, and it not only performed admirably, but was a delight to drink.

This is a wine that won’t get written about much for the next year or so.  Wine writers (me included) and editors are jumping all over one another to write about a very narrow definition of “value” which often sounds a little like “cheap”:  because only about 10% of the production of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is white, these, due to their scarcity, are not.  That said,  I would argue that the best (often priced between $40 and $100 per bottle) represent a great value in the sense of getting  a delicious and unique bottle of wine for the money.

Legally, white Châteauneuf-du-Pape can contain any of the thirteen varieties of grapes permitted in the AOC, but in practice, only the white grapes, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Clairette, Picpoul and Bourbolenc, are used.  Because of the Mediterranean climate and the prevalence of high-alcohol grape varieties, these wines are often quite rich: but the best maintain plenty of fresh acidity. Flavors of apricots and peaches, as well as more tropical fruits are often complimented by creamy, waxy and nutty flavors and textures, and occasionally some spice and vanilla from new oak.  This is a wine that, though always good, has definitely benefited from the more modern approach that many of the wineries have employed.

I was first smitten with Châteaneuf-du-Pape blanc on a wine trip, very early in my career, to Château de Beaucastel, one of the leading estates in the region.  The Perrin Family, proprietors of the estate, had recently been to a dinner in which the chef had asked a number of producers to bring their oldest white wines.  The story they told was that, while they obliged the chef and brought a very old white, they also brough a much more recent one that they were sure would still be good.  It turns out that the other producers had all done the same.  When it came time to open the older wines, they were all supendously good, which was a little bit of a surprise to even the winemakers.  I benefitted peripherrally from this dinner,because at the time that we were visiting, the Château was opening a number of their older whites to evaluate, and I got to taste wines from the ’50’s (this was the early 90’s).  Needless to say, I fell in love.

Châteaneuf-du-Pape Blanc shares  a peculiar ageing cycle with it’s brethren whites from the Northern Rhône.  On release, the wines are usually vibrant, and fruity, and rich, and very showy.  Over the next five or ten years, the wines quiet down, but develop a more complex flavor and a very powerful, elegant texture.  At a certain point, usually about ten years from the vintage, the wines go very quiet, and for a significant period of time, often ten years or more, don’t exhibit much in the way of flavor, and can even taste old and tired.   But many of them spring into a second, much more intriguing life after this sleepy period that is filled with baked fruit, butterscotch, spices and smoky characters, and is a revalation if you ever get to taste it.

Another quirk of Châteaneuf-du-Pape Blanc is that it often posseses an unusual mixture of oxidative (nutty, rich, waxy), and reductive (crisp, fruity, even sulphury) flavors.  Another type of wine that exhibits this tendency is Chenin Blanc from Saviennieres.  In both cases, the wines benefit from decanting (yes, it’s perfectly okay, and sometimes desirable, to decant whites) before drinking.

Regardless, drinking the 2004 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Blanc reminded me exactly why I love Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc.  What a treat.  I say forget about the economy and prepare to experience a value in the grander sense of the word!

This is nothing short of thrilling Champagne, as is everything produced by this stunning, and totally off-the-radar producer in the exceptional Côte de Blancs cru of Vertus. Veuve Fourny & Fils was founded in the 1930’s as Champagne Albert Fourny, based around 8.5 hectares of vineyards, all in Vertus, that had been owned and managed by the family since 1865. In the 1950’s, when Albert passed away, the house was renamed Veuve Fourny. Since 1993, Albert’s grandsons Charles Henry and Emmanuel have been in charge.

The house owns 8.5 hectares of vineyards, and purchases fruit from another 4 hectares, which are for all intents and purposes controlled by them. This makes them a grower-producer in all but name, and their approach is much more that of a grower than of a negociant. All of the grapes in their wines come from Vertus, and they believe that that is one of the purposes of the house to produce wines that reflect the terroir of Vertus (this is a very unusual attitude in Champagne). Only the Cuvées (the light, first pressing of the grapes) are used for their base wines, which are fermented and aged in a combination of temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and oak barrels. After blending, bottling and secondary fermentation, the wines stay in the cellars for a minimum of 3 years before disgorgement (the minimum time for NV Champagne is 18 months).

Grande Reserve Brut is a blend of three vintages, and is made from roughly 20% Pinot Noir and 80% Chardonnay with about 40% of the blend coming from reserve wines. 10% of the base wine was aged in barrel. This wine has a gorgeous, tiny, even bead, with fresh, intriguing nose, and a rich, elegant mouth feel. It’s really exactly what I want in a glass of Champagne. This Champagne is a wonderful candidate for ageing, and will continue to get more complex through 2012, but again, it’s awfully good now, so I will have a hard time waiting.

The food to eat with this wine, is, well, just about anything. But as there is a bit of delicacy to this style, I wouldn’t have this with a steak. This is my favorite new (to me) Champagne that I have tried this year.

This is one of the wines from the December shipment of my Extraordinary Wine Club.  To see what that’s all about, click here.

It’s snowing again in Seattle.  The third major snowfall in four days.  I realize that a lot of the rest of the country is getting it worse than we are right now, but 12 inches of snow in a season is unheard of here, to get that much in four days is just crazy.  Anyway, it reminded me of the strangest wine storage I’d ever heard of.

A few years ago my father and I took a once-in-a-lifetime fishing trip to the northern tip of Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories in Canada.  It was a starkly beautiful place, a hundred or so miles north of the Arctic Circle.  On the lake we fished for Lake Trout (most of the world records have been caught here, and the fishing was truly amazing) and we took a two-day trip further north to the Tree River in Nunavut, to fish for Arctic Char.  The fishing was amazing, and the terrain was stark and beautiful, but what really caught my attention was the wine (of course) they were serving in the dining hall in the stark, but surprising comfortable lodge we were staying at (Plummer’s Artic Lodge). 

Most of the bottles didn’t have labels.  When I asked one of the staff why, expecting a conspiracy not to acknowledge the American provenance of the bottles, she told me a great, true, story.   The winter there lasts from 7 - 9 months (we were there in August and the ice had only been off the lake for 3 weeks), and the temperatures regularly stay below -30 Fahrenheit.  Because the lodge is so remote (100’s of miles from the nearest road), getting supplies in and out is very difficult.  So everything that can stay over the winter does.  Mind you, the power and heat are off, and there are no people there, and the temperature in the buildings equalizes with the outdoor temperature quickly.  -30 is plenty cold enough to freeze wine and shatter the bottles (and just about everything else). 

The solution is to put all of the wine  in cleaned out metal fuel barrels, and sink them to the bottom the lake.  The ice on the lake doesn’t get deeper than ten feet, so sinking the barrels in 15 feet of water is adequate.  The water is fresh, so it doesn’t get below +32 Fahrenheit, and is the warmest place for hundreds of miles.  Though I wouldn’t recommend this for anything fancy or valuable, it’s a pretty elegant solution.

Note from Jake: This post has been updated, revised, and generally improved.  In part in reaction to an email and phone call from Keith Johnsen, who imports some of these wines, and in part because on reading the post, it was really badly written.  - Jake

Yesterday (December 4th), I went to one of those incredibly frustrating tastings that are so much a part of what I’ve been doing for the last twenty months or so.  It was a tasting of Georgian wines, sponsored by the Georgian Ministry of Agricultureand USAID.   The frustrating part of the tasting wasn’t that the wines were bad — in fact there were a lot that were quite good, or that the tasting was badly organized (topic for another time), but rather that some ofthe best wines, and a stunning brandy that was being shown, aren’t currently available in the United States. 

Will more of these wines (and more importantly those brandies) make it to the US?  It’s an interesting question, and there isn’t an easy answer.   The wines are unfamiliar to us both from the point of view of some of the traditional styles (amphora aged wines, and semi-sweet reds anyone) , and in grape varieties  (when was the last time you drank a Tsinandali, or a Rkatsiteli?).    But the best of the wines are better than just interesting, they are quite good, and probably worth a bit of our time.   

Georgian wine is some of the oldest (from a historical point of view) in the world, with a sophisticated wine making tradition dating back several thousand years.  The market for Georgian wine has traditionally been at home, and in recent history also in Russia: immediately before, during and after the Soviet Era.  Because of this they haven’t had much need for Western Europe or the United States as markets, because everything that was produced was consumed and paid for quickly in Georgia or Russia.  Beginning with an seemingly politically motivated ban on Georgian wine Russia, in 2006, and continuing to the present situation (Russian invasion et al), Georgian winemakers are looking for new places to sell their wines, and with one of the fastest growing wine consumption rates in the world, the United States is high on their list. 

This, admittedly limited, tasting was the most extensive selection of Georgian wine that I had tasted by a longshot.  I thought that at the lowest end of the price spectrum (under $10 retail) these wines couldn’t compete with similarly priced wines from Spain, Argentina, and even the US.  However, the next tier of wines  ($10 - $25 retail) provide some excellent values, and even a few wines worth seeking out regardless of price.    The most interesting of the wines, those aged in kvevri (amphora) are not going to appeal to everyone, likewise the off-dry reds, but in the best cases, both are worth a try, and there are plenty more straightforward wines in the mix for the less adventurous . . . . The trick is finding them.   

With this in mind, I offer an abbreviated list of the wines (and the Brandy) I tasted that stood out along with information about whether they are available yet in the states.

Teliani Valley  - This winery from Kakheti is probalby the most common Georgian wine in the US, and it represents a great introduction to the others.  In fact, I’ve had a mixed case of this at my house that I have been slowly pouring over for the last six months or so, and there are many pleasant surprises here. 

The real hits of this line-up are

2004 Teliani Valley Tsinandali  - from the Tsinandali sub-region of Kakheti, a white wine blended from Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane grapes.  The wine is crisp, with lots of fresh apple, lemon and pleasant apple cidery flavors, but also has a waxy texture that some people will no doubt love, and others will be less attracted to.  About $12 retail.

2005 Teliani Valley Kindzmarauli - This is an off-dry red (really, and its really good) that is a traditional style in Geogia.  the wine is made from Saperavi grapes, that are cold-stabilized to end fermentation before the wine is completely dry.  The result is a wine that has a very vibrant, nearly electric red fruit character that balances the acidity and firm tannins perfectly.  It’s not a dessert wine, but rather something to drink with a particularly rich dish at dinner (it would be a great holiday wine).  About $19 retail.

Mildiani -  Some of you might be familiar with this producer because three of the wines are floor-stacked at Whole Foods right now.  Unfortunately, they are not my favorite wines from the region (or even wines I liked).  The pricing here is attractive, with most of the wines retailing for less than $10, but they are thin and simple, tasting green and unripe to my palate.  It’s  worth noting that not everyone agrees with my opinions here: both the buyer at Whole Foods in the Northwest (Erez Klein) and the owner of the Daqopa Brands (Keith Johnsen) who imports Mildiani’s wines referred me columns by respected wine writers Paul Gregutt and Richard Kinsies who agree with them that Mildiani wines are really good, and excellent values.  (The link on each writers’ name is to their columns).  I have also agreed to re-taste the Mildiani wines this week and will post any updates to these notes that I think are warranted at that time.   

Vinoterra - This is a producer that is more committed to using some of the traditional Georgian techniques than the previous two, despite its recent purchase by the German  firm Schulman.  Of the wines already available in the US, these were far and away my favorites, both in terms of quality and of character.   The traditional wines from Georgia are often fermented, macerated and aged for long periods of time in buried amphorae called kvevri.  The result here is some wines in the line that are a bit esoteric for some tastes, but all were exciting and worth seeking out. 

2006 Vinoterra Kisi - a white from another native white grape, Kisi.  This wine has character to spare, with lots of fresh, baked and candied red appple, cinamon, steel wool, and spice on the nose and palate, a medium body, plenty of acidity, and a nearly pink border from extended time on the skins after fermentation.  This is a perfect holiday white.  About $20 retail.

2007 Vinoterra Tsinandali - White wine blended from Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane grapes.  Notes of apricot, honey, green apple and apple blossoms on the nose, with a beautiful acidity and hints of saltiness on the palate.  Long and pretty.  About $15 retail (coming soon, but not yet availble)

2005 Vinoterra Tsinandali - again, a white wine blended from Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane grapes.  This wine is full of apricot, green apple, waxy characters, and has big, elegant acidity and a very long finish.  really pretty wine.  Available at Whole foods in the Pacific Northwest for $15

Now the producers who aren’t imported yet, but hopefully will be soon

Telavi Wine Cellar - I don’t have much information about this Kakheti winery, but some of the wines were outstanding.  The had 3 of the off-dry reds that are so much a part of Georgian wine making, and two were quite good. 

2005 Telavi Wine Cellar Napareuli - Napareuli is a sub-appellation of Kakheti, and the wines there are red wines from the Saperavi grape.  This one was typical, but better than many of the others I tried.  Dry, medium-bodied with notes of red plum, quince, raspberry and white pepper.  The wine was layered and substantial and very tasty.  Unfortunately, not available.

2005 Telavi Wine Cellar Kindzmarauli - an off-dry red from Saperavi grapes.  it is a stunny Magenta color, with a nose of blackberry and plum jelly, lots of clove and mace like spicey notes, and a pleasant hint of Volatile Acidity (its okay in this context, really) that makse the nose smell like apple cider.  On the palate, there were lots of silky tannins, a hint of sweetness (no more than an over the top Zinfandel) and a long, layered finish.  Really tasty, unfortunately, not available.

2005 Telavi Wine Cellar Khvanchkara - this off-dry red, made from Aleksandrouli and Mujuretuli grapes from Racha was one of the standouts of the tasting.  A vibrant ruby color, aromas of spiced plums, apple jelly, cinamon, clove, and a bright, medium-full bodied palate that was just sweet enough to make the tannins and acid seem soft.  Again, unfortunately not available.

Tbilvino - the winery that stole the show, and is, alas, not yet imported to the US. 

2005 Tbilvino Tsinandali - A white wine from the Tsinandali sub-appellation made from Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane grapes.   This one is full of smoky apricot, quince and honeysuckle aromas with a fresh, dry palate, lots of bristling acidity, and a pleasantly rich, long finish.  A really tasty wine that would probably retail for about $12 in the US if it were available.

2004 Tbilvino Tsinandali Special Reserve - Oak aged version of the above wine.  Though the oak is noticible, it provides a pleasant richness, and adds a spicy note that really fleshes out the flavors of yellow apple, apricot, flowers and smoke.  The texture of this wine is truly classy, with a richness that balances the substantial acidity and a long, seductive finish. 

2007 Tbilvino Saperavi- A red wine made from the Saperavi Grape.  Dry, medium-bodied, hints of oak, lots of spicy red fruits: cherries, raspberries, red plums, white pepper, mace, caradmom.  Not a rich wine, but rather a spicey red wine that would be great as a starter (or a bit chilled).  really fun, but alas, not available. 

2002 Tbilvino Saperavi Special Reserve - This dry, medium-full-bodied red exhibited cedar, blackberries, black plum and hints of smoke and pepper on nose.  On the palate, it was classy, with elegant tannins, a long finish, and a rich mid-palate.  Another really classy wine that we can’t get (are you beginning to see why i’m frustrated!)

The reserves here are in a very international style (read: rich and oaky, with expensive, pretty pakaging) that some purists might not find authentic enough for their tastes.  It was even suggested to me that the oak regime wouldn’t stand up to serious scrutiny in the US or Western Europe.  But I liked both the main line of wines and the reserves a lot.  I thought it was notable that the grapes stood up the solid oak very well: maintaining balance and character, and even becoming a little more complex. 

Bagrationi 1882 - the largest sparkling wine producer in Georgia, making some really good sparklers using both the Traditional Methode (2nd fermentation in the bottle) and the Charmat Process (2nd fermentation in presurized vats, then bottles under pressure to retain the gas) using native Georgian grape varieties.   The say that they are negotiating a deal to be imported as I write this.

2007 Bagrationi 1882 Royal Cuvée Brut - this wine is the homage to their namesake Prince Ivane Bgrationi-Mukhraneli who first produced sparkling wine using the Methode Tradtional in 1882.  It’s also the best of their wines that I have tried.  Fine bubbles and a complex nose of peach, toast, cocoa and acacia.  The nearly dry palate was delicate and floral, with a distinct mineral character, and the bubbles were quite fine.  The wine is made from Tsitska, Chinebuli and Goruli Mtsvane grapes. 

Sarajishvili - not a winery, but a brandy distillery.  Their representative told me that they use Copper post stills, and age the spirits in French oak.  Further, he said that the grapes they use are Rkatsiteli and Tsitska.  Some of these, particularly the older ones, were truly outstanding.  Again, not imported to the US.

Sarajishvili VSOP - though not regulated by the strict ageing requirements of Cognac, the representative assured me that this was in fact aged in oak for 8-10 years (much longer than a VSOP Cognac).  The color on all of these brandies was strangely yellow, and this was no exception, with a mohagany hue and pale yellow edges.  On the nose, the spirit was wheaty with notes of vanilla, brown sugar and baked lemons.  On the palate, the spirit was mellow, had a layered, rich mouthfeel, and lots of burnt sugar and peppery notes on the very pleasant, warming finish.  This was pretty good stuff.

Sarjishvili Very Old (12 Years) - This was seriously classy.  Again, a mohagany color with a pale yellow edge.  Notes of caramel, fresh baked bread, pepper, caramlized orange peel and a long, layered finish that was pleasantly marked by acidity, peppery spice and brulee character. 

Sarajishvili Eniseli (14 Years) - This was the winner, from a single village, aged 14 years in oak.  The color here wasn’t darker, but for the first time, the Mohagany dominated the yellow.  The nose was explosive with all manner of baking spice, caramel, molasses, candied citrus and peppery spices like cardamom and white pepper.  The palate was mellow, but with an undercurrant of brooding spice and a really long, layered, complex finish.  This outshined the 18 year XO by quite a bit.

The general consensus amongst wine experts (self-proclaimed and otherwise) is that for wine and food to go together, wine must be low in alcohol, high in acidity, moderate in oak, and not too overhwelming in flavor.  There is something to be said for this approach: acidity is almost always welcome, there is a tendancy to use too much oak in many wines which makes them hard to drink alone, much less with food, and alcohol can easily overwhelm more delicate foods.   But I disagree that these principles have a special, or even a tenuous, hold on holiday food: Christmas and Thanksgiving are the times to bring out the bruisers.

American holiday meals, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas, are rarely made up of delicate foods.  Holiday meals tend to be rich, and many of the dishes are even sweet, and often heavily influenced by spices.    At Thanksgiving, I think about not only Turkey (okay, this is arguably a bit bland sometimes), but cranberries, sweet potatoes, and stuffing (often laced with onions, herbs and even chestnuts).  At Christmas, I think of ham or prime rib, maybe even a goose, and, again, rich often sweet side dishes.   With food like this, the worry isn’t that the food will be overwhelmed, but that it will overwhelm the wines. 

For rich, intensely-flavored foods, it is crucial that the wine is equally rich and flavorful: this can mean big fruit, big oak, and even big alcohol.   This is also a great approach to sweet foods.  Though it is traditional  to serve a wine that is slightly sweeter than the food it accompanies, sweet wines aren’t always appropriate for dinner (this is mostly a matter of modern taste, see the attached menu gilded-butterflies-menu-version-3), and both alcohol and oak can give wine a perception of sweetness that goes wonderfully with moderately sweet food.   In order for wines that are high in alcohol, oak, fruit or all of the above to taste good, they need acidity to balance them, so I do think that the acid is a necessary component here.

The following are some of my favorite general holiday pairings.  For a list of specific wines, see my list of recommendations from my appearance on King 5 TV with Tim Robinson on Monday, November 24th by clicking this link.  Viognier is a great white for holiday meals: it has loads of flavor, often high-alcohol, and the best have the acidity to balance.  Chardonnays also have a great place in these meals, both Burgundy and the big new world Chards: I’ll be drinking 95 Verget Meursault le Rougeots for T-day.   Grenache is also a great choice, particularly for Thanksgiving, as it often has a lighter red fruit flavor, lots of spice and smoke, and a serious dollop of richness from alcohol.  Syrah is a hit across the board, for the big black fruit, smokiness and spice, as well as the richness and oak that are such and important part of the best California, Washington, Australian and South African (don’t miss these) version.  Other whites that work include Torrontes, Pinot Gris and Smaragd Gruner Veltliners.  Other reds include: Malbec, Morvedre (also as Monastrell in Spain) and most Spanish Reds (not in the least because of the use of American Oak).

Some people argue that the holidays should be about drinking what you like and eating what you like, rather than food and wine pairing.  I’m not adverse to this notion, and I really do believe that good food and good wine will find a way to work together — I just think that sometimes picking which of the wines you like, and which of the foods you like can make both better.   

Oh yeah! one more thing: I didn’t mention Champagne.  It should go without saying that Champagne has a place at all meals, especially those around the holidays.

Happy Holidays for now. 

-Jake