St. Supery 2007 Sauvignon Blanc: A Show Stopper

Sitting down to dinner the other night brought an exciting surprise. As a part of our nightly anitpasto we were indulging in an imported basil pesto and crackers. Imported from Italy, the pesto is intense, rich and succulent, just right after a long day of dehydrating work. As pleasant as the pesto was it was not the surprise. I opened a 2007 St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc as an accompaniment to our pesto. Mary and I have had St. Supery many times before and had some good experiences along with some fair to middling ones. This time was very different. Sauvignon Blancs usually have citrus, lime and herbal notes. Sometimes the grapfruit is very forward and intense. On this occassion, the grapefruit was there, indeed. What was surprising to us was the intense and totally forward pineapple flavors. It hit like a meteor strike. The pineapple exploded on the tongue and held on for what seemed like minutes. Pow! What excitement. Visions of pineapples from Central America danced in my head. After a time the grapefruit, lime, and green apple notes mixed in with a gentle acidity. The finish was long and zesty. I was reminded of the New Zealand SBs, especially as they were before growers started to dumb down the edginess that brought them to fame.

In reading reviews of the 2007 St. Supery I was struck by the minor role the pinapple flavors played. In fact, some reviewers did not mention pineapple at all. I suggest you give this wine and vintage a try. Let me know what you experience. It's worth the time and effort. You can pick up a bottle for about $20.00.

It's not every weekday night before dinner that such a zingy surprise occurs.

You can learn more about the superb wines produced at St. Supery by going to their equally superb website.

A Winter Dinner with Friends: Falanghina and Cabernet

One of the great joys of winter is sitting down with good friends in a warm and cozy house. Last week we had just such a day when our dearest friends Alden and Maureen came from Brooklyn to be with us. We hadn't seen them in some months so just the thought of seeing them again brought joy to us. Mary planned one of Alden's favorite foods: brisket of beef with some hearty vegetables. The brisket was so big we had to cut it in half and use two pots on top of the stove to prepare them. Mary used carrots, string beams, onions and potatoes to accompany the brisket.

Before dinner, however, we indulged in some antipasto. We offered an Italian blue cheese, a French brie with an accompanying shrimp cocktail. Mary made the cocktail sauce herself. It was mild but excellent. The horseradish was just right for my taste. For the pre-dinner selection I picked a well touted white Italian 2007 Terredora Dipaolo Falanghina. None of us had ever tasted a Falanghina. I'm glad we did. Falanghina is grown in the Campania region of Italy, just north or Naples. It is a savory, very well balanced wine. The color is an amazing yellow unlike most I have seen. The nose was fruity and refreshing. On first taste Mary and I sensed a minerality that was seductive and exciting. I thought it was hinting at green apples though Mary sensed pear. It was perfect with the shrimp and I would say the Falanghina would be wonderful with fish dishes in general.

Dinner was equally interesting. Alden brought a bottle of Cellar No. 8 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Asti Winery in Sonoma California. Alden mentioned that it was, I think, under $10.00 a bottle. Cellar No. 8 has a real history to it in the annals of Oliva/Brown wine tasting. Some years ago I found a bottle of Cellar No. 8 Zinfandel at the Stewart Spirits Wine Shop in Floral Park (now defunct). I was unsuccessful in finding another bottle until Alden came across it in Carrol Gardens, Brooklyn. For the price, it is a fine, well bred wine. The nose was a bit muted but the color was full and almost grape juice looking. The upfront flavor was not strong but it was full and well balanced with a strong spice to the finish. The wine possessed a plum or dark cherry flavor. I had hoped for a tad more strength and complexity but it was very pleasing and went perfectly with the brisket of beef. Which, by the way, was superb. Mary cooked it until it nearly melted at first taste.

The day was very successful. We enjoyed seeing our friends once again both human and varietal.

Bob

Eric Steinberg's Top Wines of 2008

1. 1985 Ch. L’Evangile (Pomerol)

2. 1985 Ch. Le Tertre Rotebouef (St. Emilion)

3. 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Premiere Trie Moelleux

4. 1990 Weingut Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen Auslese #8

5. 1991 Weingut Immich-Batterieberg Enkircher Batterieberg Spatlese

6. 1994 Weingut J.J. Christoffel Ürziger Würzgarten Spatlese

7. 1997 Ridge Vineyards York Creek Zinfandel

8. 2004 Condado de Haza (Ribera del Duero)

9. 2005 Weingut Clemens Busch “Vom Roten Schiefen”

10. 2005 Sbragia Family Winery Andolsen Vineyard Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

I’ve already posted some comments on Wine Tasters about wines #1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9.

#2: Medium ruby color with some browning at edges, Big bouquet packed with fruit and a caramel overtone. After some initial bitterness the wine becomes smooth, with a very distinctive taste and good intensity. Superior Bordeaux, even if it lacks the elegance of #1.

#5. 1991, which was not a stellar vintage in the Mosel, was Georg Immich’s swan song, as he left the estate after the vintage. This is a wine I have admired since first tasting it in Germany in 1993. When I tasted it a couple months ago, it was deep gold, almost copper colored, with a rich fruity nose, a taste that reminded me of nuts and a dry finish. In sum, it was in the typical Immich style but perhaps atypical for Mosel Rieslings.

#8 and #10. These two wines were tasted on the same occasion and overshadowed a number of other good wines, including a very young and robust 2005 Cap de Faugeres. Condado de Haza is owned by Alejandro Fernandez, whose Pesquera was among the first Ribera del Duero wines to gain international acclaim. In the last 10 to 15 years I have had a number of Condado de Haza wines but I don’t remember a single one that was nearly as impressive as the 2004. It has a very rich, spicy taste but still with the elegance and complexity I associate with traditional Tempranillo wines. The Sbragia wine, from the winery of the long-time winemaker at Beringer, is one of the most attractive California Cabernets I have had in a long time. Because of its spicy and berry taste, as well as the influence of new wood, it’s a seductive wine. Yet, it has depth, structure and lasts in the mouth. Of the many wines tasted that evening, it was my favorite.

Coming Soon: The Year's Ten Best Wines

Eric and I will be posting our ten best wines for 2008. Come back soon and see if you agree.

Bob

Christmas Fish and a French Sancerre

Christmas Eve always means seven fishes at the Oliva's. For as far back as I can remember we have been keeping this Italian tradition. Why seven fishes? It's unclear why seven fishes rather than any other number but many feel the number seven represents the seven sacraments of the Church or possibly the seven days of creation in the Book of Genesis. Whatever the reason, it's a great way to celebrate Christmas Eve with the family. As you can see from the photo, one of the dishes was a beautiful bowl of steamed muscles in a red sauce. To compliment the muscles, I served a 2006 Benton Lane Pinot Noir. I had served this at Thanksgiving with a tremendous result. See my past post. This 2006 Pinot is a particularly good vintage in that the growing season in Oregon was extremely hot. This added an amazing lushness and depth to this already excellent wine.

The next dish Mary served was a large bowl of vermicelli and home made clam sauce. To go with this, I served a French Eric Montintin 2007 Sancerre . I didn't go with our usual New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I wanted to test Eric's last post in which he highly recommended the French Sancerres over the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. We were all happy we followed Eric's advice. Dave's fiance, Angela, said she "had never tasted a wine quite like this." Mary agreed that it was superb. It had a strong but not overwhelming bouquet of citrus with a pleasing color and a smooth, well-balanced body. It was dry and had citrus hints (mostly grapefruit to my taste)up front with a long and pleasing finish. The rest of the meal consisted of Alaskan Salmon, Fillets of Sole, Shrimp, and Crab and Cod cakes. We unanimously stayed with the Sancerre! A testament to its superior quality.

Christmas Eve dinner was a great success thanks to Mary's superb culinary talents, Eric's wine suggestions and great company. To learn more about Sancerre go to this site: The New York Times.

According to the Novovino Wine Company "Eric Montintin Domaine is located in the small town of Savigny-en-Sancerre, just 10 km north from Sancerre town. Eric started very small 10 years ago after returning from s stint as a wine buyer at a UK wine merchant. Today he owns a small 1.5 hectares vineyard in Sancerre and a couple more in Quincy and Menetou Salon. His Sancerre vineyard is entirely farmed organically and every grape from that vineyard was picked per hand."

Thanks Eric and on to New Year's Eve!

Bob

1990 Vintage

Adele and I remember vividly the summer of 1990 in Europe. We traveled through much of France in extremely intense heat. The temperature in the Loire Valley was in the upper 90s and reached 104 when we arrived in Bordeaux. A few days later, when we stayed in a hotel in Carcassone without air conditioning, some guests slept with their doors open. If the heat debilitated people and made sightseeing onerous, it was certainly beneficial for the grapes. 1990 was the sort of vintage that occurs only once every 20 or 25 years, in which outstanding wines are produced in nearly every European wine region. It was probably the best vintage of the 1990s for Red Bordeaux, a milestone in modern Red Burgundy, superb in Tuscany and the Piedmont, excellent in Rioja. Yet, perhaps no wine region had more exceptional results than the Mosel region of Germany. In 1990 its Rieslings had a purity of concentrated fruit combined with high but refreshing acidity that is more commonly associated with years of less extreme heat and sunshine. The balance of these qualities is what distinguishes most 1990 Mosels from those of other fine years. Excluding 1971, which for many lovers of German wines remains the standard by which great vintages and wines are measured, I consider 1990 my favorite Mosel vintage of the last half century (Verdicts are still out on 2001 and 2005). I was reminded just how wonderful these wines are last night. After dinner Adele and I shared a 1990 Erdener Teppchen Auslese from Meulenhof, whose wines have been imported to the US for many years by Terry Theise. Its color was deep yellow, almost orange, It had an enticing fruity bouquet (apricot?, peach?, pineapple?), a taste of very rich fruit allied with that strong streak of acidity, and a long finish that reminded us of citrus fruit. When I first tasted this wine, in 1992, it was exceedingly sweet. Now, over 16 years later, it tasted virtually dry. Adele remarked that it would have been perfectly appropriate to serve it with a meal.

Eric

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

New Zealand has been producing the best Sauvignon Blanc since the 1970s. Once an unknown in the wine world, for the past 20 plus years it has taken the wine world by storm. Robert Mondavi did a great job with his Fume Blanc and the French certainly do a good job. But it is in New Zealand that this forgotten grape has made its mark. I started drinking Sauvignon Blanc just a few years ago. If memory serves me I was on the prowl for an interesting white to go with a summer dinner party Mary and I were planning. I picked up a Goldwater New Dog, probably a 2004 or 05 vintage. Mary and I were, as we used to say, blown away. It had a strongly lush nose and lime front with a long delicious finish. It was minerally and nicely textured with a rather full body for a white wine.

The second Sauvignon Blanc we've been tasting is Coopers Creek. It's full of grapefruit and nectarine that's in your face. It has great balance, is refreshing with a long lush finish. Coopers Creek is a classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I have found it to be especially good in the warm months of Summer. It's brisk, fresh acidity is uplifting on those long hot days. We have added Villa Maria, Kim Crawford and others to our repertoire. These Sauvignon Blancs make wine tasing exciting. They can be brash and in your face. I am rarely so excited when drinking wine as I am with a New Zealand SB. It is a unique wine tasting experience to savor a fresh, crisp Sauvignon Blanc via New Zealand.

Sauvignon Blanc pairs well with food. It can go with poultry, fish, dips, vegetable dishes, etc. Please try this exciting and bold white wine.