Buehler? Buehler? Buehler?

The inestimable Ocean Grill added a new Zinfandel to their “wines by the glass” list recently, which came highly recommended to this Rampant Oenophile by regulars at the Grill. Friends of the Rampant Oenophile know how much I appreciate and enjoy a good Zin and a good value, and the 2007 Buehler Napa Valley Zinfandel hits high points on both counts.

Available direct from the winery for just $18 a bottle, and locally for $16 in good wine shops, the Buehler Zinfandel rewards a long slow pour. It’s young, but big and rich. Not “In your face” boldness, but rather a well intentioned blend of fruit and spice. It’s a deep dark purple in color with rich plum blossom bouquet. You’ll enjoy the cherry and red berry flavors to soften a nice heat from the pepper. Pairs well with stronger food flavors, but also sips pretty well in the lingering Florida summer, which just won’t go away.

Bottle Shocked...

So, it was a Chateau Montelena week recently for this Rampant Oenophile. A business friend hosted us for dinner at a local steakhouse last week, where we took full advantage of the ½ price bottle offer on a slow Monday night. We worked our way through the catalog until finding the 2005 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for $52. Our host immediately ordered two bottles and told us the story of the winery, perfectly capture in the movie Bottle Shock. As the story goes, in 1976, the British owner of L’Academie du Vin in France decides to host a blind tasting of his favorite French wines against the upstart wines of the Napa Valley. He travels to Napa Valley, meets the owner and family of Chateau Montelena, and samples a variety of terrific California wines. At the tasting, a panel of French oenophiles selects Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay as the top white wine, and the Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon won the top red wine category. Much drama and French snobbery ensues.

Unfortunately, the Chardonnay was not on the wine list, but Chateau Montelena has become known for nearly 35 years as a producer of award winning Cabs, and the 2005 is no exception. I was impressed how easily the flavors blend and pair with the great steak and seafood we enjoyed at dinner. It’s full bodied and very well balanced. You’ll taste the entire range of fruit and spice without any single flavor overpowering. It’s a wine to enjoy, but also to store for future special occasions. I highly recommend this wine.

As a footnote to the 1976 story, the owner of L’Academie du Vin, Steven Spurrier, hosted a 30th anniversary blind tasting of French and California wines fully expecting the French wines to regain their winning status. California won both categories, again.

Good, but not Great...

Friends of the Rampant Oenophile cajole frequently that I review only the successes, never the mistakes. So, in this era of careful spending, here’s a review for a wine that I will not likely buy in stores…

De Loach has been a superior producer of fine Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs forever, and their 2003 and 2005 vintages offered ripe full fruit, great legs, easy pairings with a wide variety of foods, and a constant value in the $20-$30 range for fine California Pinots. I had high hopes for the 2007, and while the wine was good, it didn’t live up to past memories. The tasting notes from Wine.com suggest cola, gingerbread spice, and cardamom in the wine’s flavor and aroma profile. I can’t say that these descriptions match my appetite for wine. Perhaps a fizzy soft-drink, but not a $20-$25 wine (store price).

All in all, the 2007 De Loach Russian River Valley Pinot Noir was not a bad wine. It was smooth, paired fine with dinner, and sipped moderately well. But, it wasn’t full. It seemed a bit light, and didn’t impress me sufficiently to motivate me to bring home a bottle or two. With so many other wines available even at the average grocery, let alone a fine wine shop, I will likely spend elsewhere for now and wait for the next De Loach offering to see how their Pinot Noir vein progresses.

Silverado Vistas...

This Rampant Oenophile has enjoyed two trips to the Left Coast, first to Napa and Calistoga, then more recently to Sonoma. Napa seems far better for ritzy and interesting wineries, Sonoma for flavorful and quirky tasting rooms. No winery impresses more than Silverado for their locale, and they do a great job with mid-market wines, as well.

Silverado offers a range of reds and whites, but it perhaps best known for their excellent Cabernet Sauvignon. Though those who know me understand I don’t yet have a palate for most Cabernets, this Rampant Oenophile has enjoyed the Silverado vintages for several years. The latest release, the 2005, is as good as any recent vintage, save perhaps the 1999, first bottled in 02.

The 2005 Silverado Cabernet Sauvignon offers deep garnet color, a rich scent of oak and tobacco, and dry textures on the tongue. It’s a lot of wine, but the dryness limits any lingering aftertastes. You’ll experience the whole of the fruit immediately, so serve it with good red meat or flavorful salads and cheeses.

If you want to decant, then decant, but simply letting this wine breath for 10 minutes in an open bottle should be sufficient. It’s young, but very powerful and offers all of the textures and overtones of a more mature Cabernet. It’s a blend, so should taste consistently across several bottles, so buy two or three and cellar at least one for 3-5 years from now. It will still reward you then as it does today.

Ravenswood Zinfandel Surprises…

This Rampant Oenophile typically thinks of Ravenswood as a supermarket wine. I enjoy tremendously their $12-$15 Cabernet for grilling out with friends, or their excellent $14 Merlot as a great wine for parties because it always pleases guests.

Imagine my surprise, then, tasting a truly exceptional Ravenswood Zinfandel that was anything but value priced. The Ravenswood Dickerson Vineyard Zinfandel 2006 delights the passions of Zinfandel mavens. It’s big and very ripe, but the fruit doesn’t assault the tongue. The red berries and cherry flavors are bright and refreshing and a perfect compliment to the spice and zest of peppercorn mixed with mineral textures. The color is as rich a red as the best Cabernet, and the bouquet offers unique floral tones that are tough to describe precisely.

Ravenswood works with Dickerson Vineyards to source the grapes for this fine Zinfandel, and the story behind their partnership reads like a California western. Dickerson is something of a maverick wine maker who has grown much magic from discarded farms. I am much impressed with this exceptional wine and intend to split a case with friends to savor this excellent Zinfandel for years to come. It’s modestly priced at $35-$40 locally, but offers more flavor at that price than most Zinfandels can ever hope to offer.

A Chard Above...

This Rampant Oenophile enjoys many wonderful values from Joseph Drouhin, and often finds wonderful, highly rated wines at budget prices under $35. Little did I know that Joseph Drouhin also produces several luscious white wines at very exclusive prices.

Through the generosity of friends, I enjoyed a remarkable Chardonnay, the 2006 Joseph Drouhin Clos des Mouches Premier Cru Blanc. This stellar Chardonnay offers by far the smoothest, most mature, and most luscious experience I’ve yet to encounter. It’s long, full, rich, and silky. Enjoy the bouquet. Breathe deeply and note a heady concoction of lemon, ripe grapefruit, and moss. Sip to discover the citrus and vanilla. Drink more deeply and the Drouhin Chard offers smoky oak and rich honey. Let it breathe slightly to notice roasted nut overtones as the wine opens.

Don’t waste this wine with a cheese course. Enjoy it with fish and grilled white meats, lusty sauces over pasta, and warm Caesar salad for the best pairings.

Not an everyday wine at $80-$100 locally, but a necessary extravagance for those of us who appreciate the old-world style of true Chardonnay.

A Tale of Two Rieslings

The heat of the Florida summer helps this Rampant Oenophile derive special pleasure from the occasional departure from red wines to the sweeter, more light-hearted whites, so this week provided 90+ degree temperatures and an opportunity to enjoy two 90+ point Rieslings from very different parts of the world.

First, from Barossa Valley, Australia, the Yalumba Y Series Riesling, a 2008 vintage full of light fruit, pleasant spice, and the subtle tang of lemongrass and grapefruit. I enjoyed two glasses with cold salads and steamed fish at dinner this week. The Yalumba Riesling is best served slightly chilled, and paired very well with food to cut a bit of the sweetness. I found it a soothing counter to the spices of the chilled peppercorn mango slaw and spicy noodle salad with dinner. For around $11 a bottle nearly everywhere, you can’t go wrong with this value. Find it online at Wine.com, who ranks it 91 points.

Next, a bigger and more refined Riesling left from my journey to the Pacific coast. Poet’s Leap from Columbia Valley, Washington, 2007, offers a very different Riesling experience. The Poet’s Leap is ranked from 90-92 points on Wine.com. Swirl the glass to enjoy the deeper yellow hues and pinkish tones of this very pleasant summer chiller. Pour a first glass and enjoy citrus, spice, and melon flavors. As the wine warms slightly, so do the acidity and flavors adjust to provide more balance and maturity. I notice pear, and the scent of freshly cut lawns on the second taste. Find it locally for about $22, or online for $20.