1997 Verget Meursault, Burgundy, France

Drinking good wine requires patience. It's easy to grab a bottle of this or that at the local wine shop, and that's what most of us end up doing... convenience and all of that. To purchase an amount of wine with the goal of essentially hiding it somewhere dark and closet-like for some amount of time (usually measured in years) requires more of the mindset of a planner, of a schemer. This is something that I used to be way, way better at than I am now. I had a lot more time to research my purchases and carefully plan what I might like to be drinking ten years into the future. Now is when I begin to reap the benefits of the work of my past self. Ten years was like ten lifetimes ago.

And yet, here we are with a wine that has been waiting patiently, waiting quietly for its chance to impress me. A wine that was a bit of a gamble to wait on... 1997 Burgundian Chardonnay could have gone either way. So, this being the last of this wine... the remaining orphan, we brought it up and cooled it down, preparing it for its time.

In the glass this wine was a really unique straw yellow color, almost disconcertingly so. These days we're not used to drinking well aged white wine (though we certainly try...), and age tends to alter white wines in distinctly interesting ways. So the color was this straw yellow, pale and just slightly tinged with brown. The nose was amazing. It was full of lime and grapefruit at the beginning, and balanced by fragrant floral and a little vanilla towards the end. The palate was equally interesting, with more citrus and a great limestone base with richer honey and something we can only describe as freshly cut grass. This wine tasted like what freshly cut grass smells like in the summer. It was really good. Nice, lingering finish, but not cloying in any way. This is one of the first whites that we brought out and chilled in preparation for the advent of warmer days, which are quickly making inroads here now, and it is immensely rewarding to have a wine around for so long and be able to really enjoy it.

I have to say that in all reality, though, that 1997 just does not seem that long ago. That worries me somewhat.

cost - $29.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 9

2002 Jade Mountain Syrah, Napa Valley, California

The year is 1991. You have the chance to buy some vineyard property. You look, you hunt, and you wait patiently for just the right opportunity to become available. Your perseverance pays off and 42 acres of PRIME vineyard land on Mt. Veeder, vineyards that produce especially excellent Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for several reserve wines, hits the market. You are Jim Paras, a San Francisco attorney with a passion for wine that runs very, very deep. You buy the 42 acres on Mt. Veeder and what do you do next? Do you get into the Cabernet Sauvignon business?

No.

You rip out all of the vines on the property and replant Syrah. The actions of a man who has gone insane. Or, perhaps, we are the ones who are insane.

Jim Paras had a vision and he wanted to make top notch Syrah. He joined forces with Doug Danielak, a known Syrah master who had trained in the crucible of the Rhone Valley. You see, they both knew that the land Jim had purchased on Mt. Veeder, with its cool temps and soil type was primo Syrah growing territory, and anybody can grow good Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley. They executed their plan with extreme prejudice.

Cat and I had not had any wines from Jade Mountain before, but given our lucky streak with New World Syrahs, and given that today is Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW) and the theme of the day is "New World Syrah" we concluded it is a great time to review this wine. I submitted our review of the Chilean Montes Alpha Syrah to WBW being hosted at Winecast, a wine blog worth checking out.

This wine, blended with 3% Viognier, was very nice. We decanted for one hour prior to tasting. When we poured our glasses we found the nose full of lilac and blackberry. We loved the lilac. There were hints of smokiness, and even some rosemary. Initially, there was an odd scent to the nose... almost like green olives, I think, but it dissipated quickly. The palate was incredibly well balanced and tasted of more blackberry with dark chocolate and earthiness. The flavors were round and full, and the finish was long. Tannin was present, but not sharp and was softened the longer it was in the glass. This wine made me want to eat roasted duck, it would have paired really, really well.

cost - $27.99 on sale from $29.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8.5

2000 E. Guigal Gigondas, Cotes-du-Rhone, France

The Cotes du Rhone region in southern France is incredibly diverse when it comes to wine, with much more flexibility in the wines that can be produced throughout the area... as compared to the regions of Bordeaux or Burgundy. The Rhone stretches from south of Lyon, France all the way to the Mediterranean and the wines that come out of the area range from big, full-bodied Chateauneuf du Pape and Cote Rotie in the north to lighter, more fruit forward wines like Crozes Hermitage in the south. Gigondas is located in the south, and the wines from here are a favorite as Gigondas rouge presents many qualities that make it not only great with food, but very flexible with what will work well with it.

To me, Gigondas is a terrific alternative to the much more expensive wines of Chateauneuf du Pape. Both offer complex, bigger style wines, but the wines of Gigondas usually go overlooked next to more famous and recognized Rhone neighbors. Vineyards and wineries in Gigondas date back to Roman times a it was the Romans who saw the potential to grow intense, concentrated grapes that take advantage of the abundant Mediterranean sun and the rich alluvial clays that make up the soil. Great combination. The grapes that thrive in this area and that comprise Gigondas are Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre - all grapes that tend to like the sun and warmer weather. This wine is made up of a blend that is 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 25% Mourvedre.

We opened this bottle and decanted for about 45 minutes. When we poured our glasses we both noticed how deeply purple the wine is, but not as dark and inky as some of the 100% Syrah's that we have had recently. The nose was really interesting, with hints of dried apricots, anise and green peppers. There is a distinct vegetal quality to the nose that we really like. Smelling again later, after a couple sips, I picked up a really subtle sweetness to the nose that was behind apricot and green peppers and I can only describe it as the smell of canned fruit right after you open the can. The palate was rich, velvety and full-bodied. We tasted green peppers more intensely than in the nose, balanced by cassis and brighter raspberry flavors. The finish is long with tastes of chocolate and cedar. This wine was good, but it had sharper edges to it that we know will mellow with age. I think that the 2000 is drinking well now, we enjoyed it, but this would be a vintage to investigate again in five to ten years. My guess is those sharp edges will have softened and will be replaced by more richness and depth.

cost - $29.99

winecommado rating (1-10) - 7.5

Champagne Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Non-Vintage Brut, Reims, France

Who doesn't love Champagne? That is a rhetorical question, so if you just answered out loud you may feel a bit foolish. Cat and I have always believed that people drink Champagne all too infrequently, and typically only on special occasions. We do what we can to change this and try to enjoy a half-bottle of champagne whenever the urge strikes us, which not-surprisingly is quite often. We're impulsive like that.

The Champagne house of Veuve Clicquot would be our favorite of the wines that we have been fortunate enough to sample from the Champagne region. It was my introduction to Champagne more than 16 years ago when I was in the restaurant business and it is the one that Cat and I enjoyed when we first met. Though we have tried several others it is the one we always go back to. We have enjoyed a couple vintage bottles from Veuve, as well as their brut rose and demi-sec. All are absolutely excellent. Our budget demands compromise, though, and for a more frequent Champagne we love the non-vintage brut pictured above and immediately recognizable by it's special Clicquot yellow label. The grapes used in champagne are chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. This non-vintage brut is distinct by the majority of it being pinot noir. About a third is chardonnay with a small percentage of pinot meunier. The dominance of pinot noir in this blend is what creates the very distinct structure of this wine.

There are two reasons, really, why we love this one. The first has to do with it's style. Veuve is traditionally a very dry and restrained style of champagne, with a yeasty quality to the nose and palate and strong, notable structure. These qualities make it an excellent apertif, but also a champagne that holds up well with lighter food (especially seafood). The flavors on the palate range from a little bit of spiced orange to subtle vanilla. Nothing lingers, though, and this wine finishes dry and clean. It always makes us happy and is a great way to introduce a little bit of luxury into the day.

The second reason we love this champagne is it's history. Though Veuve Clicquot was started by Phillipe Clicquot-Muiron in 1772, it was his son Francois who began to revolutionize the Champagne business and be among the first to export Champagne outside the confines of France. He died, though, leaving his work unfinished and his wife, the famed Madame Clicquot pictured above on top of the champagne cork, took over the business. She was the first woman to run a winery in France, and especially one of the significance and stature of Veuve Cliquot. This turned out to be a very good thing for the winery. Madame Cliquot took her champagne to new heights by building a strong brand around it - really the first French winery to do so with such notable success. Many of her marketing efforts on behalf of her wines are still best practices with luxury brands today. Among them was establishing Veuve Clicquot as THE champagne of the various royal houses of Europe. When Madame Clicquot passed away she left behind her a champagne powerhouse devoted to unique quality and to meeting the market needs beyond the frontiers of France. She did great work for growing the world's passion for great champagne. After her death, and in honor of her prestige, the image of Madame Clicquot herself came to represent the significance of the Veuve Clicquot brand, and her personal seal a symbol of its devotion to quality.


Veuve Clicquot on Wikipedia

cost - $26.99 (half bottle)

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8