I will soon start recapping my regular Friday night tastings at Bin 75 again, but first I wanted to write about several wines we've had over the past two months which may have finally convinced me of the greatness of Bordeaux. The thing is, this isn't about some first-growths, or great modern vintages like 1982 or 1990 or even 2000. Instead, I have been wowed by multiple wines from 1993, a vintage generally overlooked and considered below average and early-maturing. However, over the past few months, our group has now had four different wines from 1993, and most of them have been fabulous examples of classic aged Bordeaux.
The least impressive of the group was actually the most recent, this past Friday's Gruaud-Larose. While not a bad wine, this wine was one that did seem to be fading a bit. After a fantastic classic Bordeaux nose, when tasting the wine it left a little to be desired. There was still some good earthiness, and not any soy characteristics creeping in, but the fruit was fading and the finish was short. Still, for a wine that was rated 86 points by Parker, it has held up remarkably well for an 18 year old wine.
Now onto the wines that really inspired this post. First was the 1993 Angelus, which was considered one of the better wines of the vintage. When we had this wine, it was showing off all the great characteristics of classic Bordeaux. There was a great nose, great balance on the palate, hints of earthiness, and a fairly long finish. Tasting blind (as we always do on Fridays) we all thought it could be a top wine (such as Angelus) but from a top vintage like 1990. When we saw it was 1993, we were all quite impressed at how well the wine had aged.
Perhaps inspired by this wine, others began showing up with wines from the vintage. Out next experience was the Pichon-Longueville-Baron, a wine that wasn't considered among the best of the vintage, nor anywhere near the best wines from this producer. However, this wine was just as impressive as the 1995 and 2000 Pichon Barons we've had recently. I'd probably even rate it above the 1995 (my notes on the 2000 are skewed, as the night we had it, the wine came several sports after the 1990 Montrose, which blew it and all others that night away). Once agin though, I was really wowed how a wine from such a sub-par vintage had turned into a classic after 18 years.
Finally, a couple of weeks ago we had the 1993 Tertre Roteboeuf. Perhaps showing (along with the Angelus) that the Left Bank was more successful in '93, this wine was again firing on all cylinders. It didn't quite have the depth and complexity of the Angelus, but it was still a really good wine. I don't know that it has that much life left in it, but right now this wine is still showing its stuff.
Overall, these 1993s may have finally convinced me of why so many feel that Bordeaux is the king of wine regions. While I still feel that other places can make great wines, it is rare for an off vintage anywhere else to produce such classic wines that can age for up to 20 years. I've sampled some great Hermitage from lesser vintages, but with only a handful of prodcuers to begin with, even they can't compete. As someone who has very little Bordeaux in my cellar, I feel a bit dismayed by prices for the new "classic" vintages, knowing I really can't afford much. But judging by these wines, I now have faith that if I search out some great producers in lesser vintages, there could be some great deals in age-worthy wines, and to me that is something I thought was gone for Bordeaux.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The state of Greek wine
While Greece struggles with many issues in their government and economy, one industry that continues to improve is wine. My recent trip allowed me a chance to check in on some of the latest releases, focusing on the indigenous varietals that many Greek winemakers are putting more focus on. Most of these wines are still more of the everyday drinking type, but there is certainly one winery that I think is capable of making some world-class reds.
To begin with, there was one very different wine we tried, the Domaine Tselepos Amalia Brut, a sparkling wine made from the Moschofilero grape. This wine won't make anyone forget the great Champagne houses, but it was a very enjoyable effort, and something I didn't know was being produced in Greece. Kudos to Tselepos for this work, which is impressive.
Among the entry-level red wines, I was very impressed this year with the Boutari Naoussa 2008. This has always been a standard table wine in Greece, but it is clear that Boutari has raised the quality of this Xinomavro-based wine. Available in the US in many places, it is a nice $10-$15 wine here. Boutari's 2004 Grand Reserve was also quite tasty, though not necessarily worth the extra cost.
Another winery from the north is Domaine Porto Carras. Among their highlights was the 2008 Limnio, an ancient varietal grown on the Chalkidiki peninsula. We also tried their Limnio-Cabernet blend, but I preferred the straight Limnio.
Katogi is a winery getting some good press here in the US for their Xinomavro, but in Greece we drank the 2008 Averoff, a blend of Agioritiko and Cabernet Sauvignon from northern Greece. It is another wine I've had many times over the years, but this was one of the stronger efforts I can recall.
Skouras is another winery that has made some inroads in the US market with their Agioritiko and Megas Oenos blend. We didn't try any of their higher-end cuvees this year, but the entry level Erythmos (90% Agioritiko and 10% Cab) was a solid wine for the price (6 euros at the local market).
Another of the bigger Greek wineries is Hatzimichalis, which has been known for their international varieties. This year, it appears they have a new effort with a line of wines that blend these varietals with the indigenous grapes. I actually don't have the notes on the wines we had, but they were solid efforts that I think were an improvement over the straight varietals like Cab or Merlot.
Finally, we come to my favorite winery in Greece, Papaioannou. This winery from the Peloponnese specializes in the Agioritiko grape with their red wines. This year, I was lucky enough to have their entry-level Agioritiko, the Ktima Papaioannou that is their single-vineyard selection, and finally the Old Vines Selection. We actually had a 2003 vintage of the entry-level bottling, and was still fresh and full of life. The single-vineyard wine steps up the quality to a level few other Greek wines reach, but the 2004 Old Vines selection was truly a special bottle. To me, this is the red wines all other Greek reds should be measured against. It has several qualities that reminded me of an aged Sangiovese, with notes of red cherry and almost a hint of sandalwood. I truly believe that if more Greek wines begin to reach this level, the industry will achieve a breakthrough in the international market.
Overall, while there were very few thrilling world-class wines I tasted, I came away impressed this year with the overall quality level of many of the entry-level Greek wines. These wines are quite inexpensive in Greece, and many that reach the US are still affordable as well. If Greek wines can reach the homes of consumers at this level, I think it will give them a chance to make future investments that lead to even higher quality wines that a few producers are already proving can be made.
To begin with, there was one very different wine we tried, the Domaine Tselepos Amalia Brut, a sparkling wine made from the Moschofilero grape. This wine won't make anyone forget the great Champagne houses, but it was a very enjoyable effort, and something I didn't know was being produced in Greece. Kudos to Tselepos for this work, which is impressive.
Among the entry-level red wines, I was very impressed this year with the Boutari Naoussa 2008. This has always been a standard table wine in Greece, but it is clear that Boutari has raised the quality of this Xinomavro-based wine. Available in the US in many places, it is a nice $10-$15 wine here. Boutari's 2004 Grand Reserve was also quite tasty, though not necessarily worth the extra cost.
Another winery from the north is Domaine Porto Carras. Among their highlights was the 2008 Limnio, an ancient varietal grown on the Chalkidiki peninsula. We also tried their Limnio-Cabernet blend, but I preferred the straight Limnio.
Katogi is a winery getting some good press here in the US for their Xinomavro, but in Greece we drank the 2008 Averoff, a blend of Agioritiko and Cabernet Sauvignon from northern Greece. It is another wine I've had many times over the years, but this was one of the stronger efforts I can recall.
Skouras is another winery that has made some inroads in the US market with their Agioritiko and Megas Oenos blend. We didn't try any of their higher-end cuvees this year, but the entry level Erythmos (90% Agioritiko and 10% Cab) was a solid wine for the price (6 euros at the local market).
Another of the bigger Greek wineries is Hatzimichalis, which has been known for their international varieties. This year, it appears they have a new effort with a line of wines that blend these varietals with the indigenous grapes. I actually don't have the notes on the wines we had, but they were solid efforts that I think were an improvement over the straight varietals like Cab or Merlot.
Finally, we come to my favorite winery in Greece, Papaioannou. This winery from the Peloponnese specializes in the Agioritiko grape with their red wines. This year, I was lucky enough to have their entry-level Agioritiko, the Ktima Papaioannou that is their single-vineyard selection, and finally the Old Vines Selection. We actually had a 2003 vintage of the entry-level bottling, and was still fresh and full of life. The single-vineyard wine steps up the quality to a level few other Greek wines reach, but the 2004 Old Vines selection was truly a special bottle. To me, this is the red wines all other Greek reds should be measured against. It has several qualities that reminded me of an aged Sangiovese, with notes of red cherry and almost a hint of sandalwood. I truly believe that if more Greek wines begin to reach this level, the industry will achieve a breakthrough in the international market.
Overall, while there were very few thrilling world-class wines I tasted, I came away impressed this year with the overall quality level of many of the entry-level Greek wines. These wines are quite inexpensive in Greece, and many that reach the US are still affordable as well. If Greek wines can reach the homes of consumers at this level, I think it will give them a chance to make future investments that lead to even higher quality wines that a few producers are already proving can be made.
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