2004 Domaine de Saint Pierre Sancerre, Loire Valley, France

There is no doubt that we have exposed our bias for the wines of the Loire Valley. We've only really discussed a few, though, and in the context of our review of this Sancerre thought we would give you a little background on the Loire valley and the wines of the region. The valley gets its name from the Loire river that runs through the area. It is this river, changing and moving across the landscape over its history, that has imparted so many of the mineral qualities in the soil that make their way into the regions wines. The Sauvignon Blancs of the Loire are noted for these qualities, and we seek them out. In reality, the Loire is made up of several different grape growing areas and these represent a broad range of growing climates from the appelation Sancerre in the east to the appelation of Muscadet. Along the river are many other appelations, some very recognizable and others less so. The more widely known are Vouvray, Sancerre and Pouilly Fume. But there is also Touraine (a wine from which we just reviewed) as well as Chinon and Anjou (wines from which we will be reviewing in the near future). It is the white grapes of the appelations that the Loire is most noted for, and it goes without saying that the queen of these is Sauvignon Blanc. We would be remiss, though, to not point out that the Melon grape of Muscadet in the Loire makes amazing wine... also a favorite of ours and a grape that is gaining an increasing following with the vineyards of the Willamette Valley and wineries like Panther Creek and Ken Wright Cellars. Something that we are are excited to do, and that is also gaining increasing exposure, is to begin reviewing some of the red wines of the Loire, wines that go mostly unnoticed here in the US but that deliver excellent value and quality.

We found this Sancerre to be classic and delivering of the promise for the wines of this appelation. The nose was bright with lemon and flint, and a subtle pine quality. It tasted wonderful with more citrus, moving toward grapefruit, and a nice minerally backbone. We also picked up rosehips in the finish, which was clean and dry. For the money, this wine is a nice entry-level example of the style of Sancerre.

cost - $16.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8

2004 Pouilly-Fuisse Clos Reissier, Burgundy, France

White Burgundy means classic French style Chardonnay. At least it means that most of the time. The French style of Chardonnay is so right, in my opinion, and is differentiated by its bastard relatives in Napa and Somoma by favoring crisp, citrus qualities balanced by creaminess and structure. I'm generalizing slightly here, but given the choice I would choose Burgundian Chardonnay over just about any Chardonnay from California... though there are several great California Chardonnays that are vinted in a French style. I have to concede that.

Getting to the point. The area of Pouilly-Fuisse in Burgundy produces wonderfully classic French style chardonnay. Pouilly-Fuisse is an area made up of four villages that collectively make their wine under the Pouilly-Fuisse moniker. The soils of the area are very chalky and has a high clay content. Just from that you can guess what this wine is going to taste like.

This wine sees no oak and is fermented in stainless steel. That can be a good thing as the results are a clean, crisp, bright wine that is a perfect apertif or refresher on a hot day, which we are not currently having around here (-12 degrees F outside at this very moment). The nose of this Chardonnay was full of citrus and green apple, balanced by a flinty scent. On the palate it tasted of pear and lemon with a short but elegant finish. Really, a very straightforward white wine that is totally unpretentious. Very bright, great with lighter food or before dinner, and an excellent palate cleanser - like the lemon sorbet of wine. Very enjoyable for the price.

cost - $15.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8

2004 Ridge Three Valleys Zinfandel, Sonoma County, California

You deserve better photography, and perhaps we should take the label shots before we drink the wine. Please be patient with us.

A couple weeks ago we tried the Ridge Syrah, a limited production wine from a winery that is highly respected for its Zinfandels. That Syrah rocked our world, and winecommando gave it a solid 10 rating. I am going to buy a case of it for the small basement room that we call the "cellar."

It's the Zinfandels, though, that everyone talks about from Ridge. I've had several from them including the Lytton Springs, Geyserville and Pagani Ranch. They are all consistently excellent. We had not tried the Three Valleys Zinfandel, though, and were excited to give it a taste.

The name "Three Valleys" for this wine is to signify that it is blended from multiple vineyards. The wine itself is a mix of 68% Zinfandel, 11% Carignane, 10% Syrah, 7% Petite Sirah, and 4% Grenache. You can bet that a tremendous amount of effort and tasting went into figuring that blend out. The grapes that Ridge chooses for this wine are from the more accessible of the lots from their single vineyards. This wine is made from grapes grown in the vineyards of Lytton Springs, Dry Creek, Geyserville, Mazzoni, Stone Valley Ranch, and Pagani Ranch. It was fermented in classic Ridge style, meaning with the natural yeasts and minimal intervention.

We opened and decanted the wine without tasting right away. It's a Zin, I figured we shouldn't rush it. After about 30 minutes we poured a couple glasses. The first thing that struck us was the color. Deep, dark red. So dark that it is almost black towards the center of the glass. The nose was full of grape jelly, a tinge of sharper raspberry, and a scent I can only classify as wet hay or wet grass. The nose was wonderful. I also picked up a little black pepper. We had read a review of this wine earlier and it said something about "briar" in the nose. I have no idea what briar smells like and can't tell you that we picked that one up. What the hell does briar smell like? I want to know.

The palate was exactly what we thought it would be, given the nose. It was concentrated and rich, though the wine was surprisingly medium bodied. You think Zinfandel and you conclude, typically, big and heavy bodied wines. Not so here. Dare I say, this Zinfandel is ELEGANT? Must be the blend. Anyway, the palate had round jammy strawberry and chocolate, if you smoke cigars you might recognize just the slightest tobacco type taste. I don't really smoke cigars, but we have these friends who always foist them on me when we get together and I tend to oblige, much to Cat's chagrin.

The finish on this wine is long, and overall it was especially pleasing. It is not incredibly sophisticated, nor is it exceptional. It is solid and for the price delivers an excellent experience. It would be terrific with grilled beef, chili, or even tacos.

cost - $22.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8

2000 Kent Rasmussen WInery Pinot Noir, Carneros, California

Kent Rasmussen started his winery in 1979 when he planted six acres of Pinot Noir vines. At that time Carneros was not thought of as optimal vineyard area and had relatively few thriving vineyards. Vineyards had once been planted throughout the area, dating back to the time that it was originally homesteaded in the 1830's, but the industry never caught on with any success. By the end of WWII, most of the vineyards had been pulled or were overgrown and forgotten.

It is an incredibly challenging area to grow grapes of any kind, but especially daunting to attempt to grow Pinot Noir there. Obviously, this did not stop Mr. Rasmussen and he persevered adding additional vineyard land in the process. By the time Carneros had caught on as a good area to grow Pinot Noir, Kent Rasmussen was already comfortably situated as the vanguard and the largest Pinot Noir vineyard owner.

He made his first wines from his plantings in 1986. Twenty years later his wines are respected and renowned throughout the world and Carneros is considered to be one of the best areas to grow Pinot Noir in California. Now that's vision.

We enjoyed this bottle. In the glass the wine offers great ruby color tinged with that reddish brown around the edges that is indicative of Pinot Noir. The nose was remarkably full, with hints of blackberry and Earl Grey tea. Cat picked up a little black licorice. The full nose gave way to a lighter palate with slightly brighter fruit, a little earthiness, and a lingering and slightly sharp finish. Cat noticed a slight metallic taste to the finish but I did not get that, but it did initially react with the back corners of my tongue. After the bottle had opened up for about 30 minutes we found it to be quite nice, very elegant, and much softer with almost a perfume like quality to the nose. Good wine.

cost - $24.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8

2005 Adelsheim Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, Oregon

The pinot gris grape has been grown in Europe, from an area in the north that includes Alsace, through Burgundy and all the way south to Northern Italy, for a very, very long time. It is a grape very well suited to this region and they produce some outstanding wines. Look for the Alsatian pinot gris by Lucien Albrecht, especially the reserve. Great wine.

Pinot gris was introduced to the United States in Oregon, and Adelsheim is one of the oldest producers of a pinot gris in the US, since 1984. It was a small production wine at the beginning, but the wine has grown in popularity through the efforts of many of the Oregonian producers who vint one. The area of the Willamette Valley is very well suited to grow great pinot gris, much as it is to grow exceptional pinot noir. I think that pinot gris is a great food wine, given its structure, and is an excellent alternative to chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. For Cat and I, it falls somewhere between the two.

This wine was very crisp and bright. We picked up nice round fruit in the nose, like ripe pear. It was enticing and very smooth on the palate with more pear fruit, very subtle lemony citrus, and a really nice creaminess. I tasted a little vanilla in the finish. It's hard to explain, but it is as crisp and refreshing as many great sauvignon blancs, but it offers a depth and complexity that sauvignon blanc just does not have. This pinot gris was delicious, and would pair very well with lighter fish dishes, vegetarian options and fowl. It would also be very nice as a before dinner wine with appetizers.

So let's explain the label. As long as I have been familiar with the wines from Adelsheim, the labels of their wines have had portraits of the women in the Adelsheim family. The portraits are drawn by Ginny Adelsheim, David Adelsheim's wife, and the woman on this label is Ginny's older sister. I think that is cool and truly makes the making of these wines a family affair, which so often it very much is.

cost - $17.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8

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

2005 Verget Macon-Charnay "Le Clos Saint-Pierre", Burgundy

Verget is a highly regarded Burgundian wine producer. As a result they are able to acquire their grapes from some of the top vineyards in Burgundy. Several of their wines are actually quite pricey, but this entry-level was not only quite affordable, but also very excellent. It is clean and very well made in a light style with excellent Chardonnay character and hardly any oak. It may have seen no oak at all. It is very fresh and bright tasting with hints of wet stones and anise in the nose. It has fruit as well as a very nice length to the flavors with melon balanced by slate and a mineral quality that we love. Cat noted that the flavors were great and they disappeared quickly leaving a dry and crisp finish to the wine. For the money, this wine kicks ass. It would be terrific with lighter food and most fish and seafood.

cost - $17.99 on sale from $24.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8

2004 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne, Cotes-du-Rhone

This was a nice Cotes-du-Rhone. Made up of about 30% grenache, with syrah and mourvedre, it is classic in style. Wine had a nice nose with just hints of fruit. It was light on the tongue, with a nutty flavor... sort of like chestnuts, I think. We had this wine by itself, and not with a meal. Cat didn't remember this one, either, and has asked me to record her impressions while we are ACTUALLY tasting the freaking wine. I have promised to do so. We liked this bottle and think it would be a great house wine.

cost - $12.99 on sale from $14.99

wine commando rating (1-10) - 8