BITS & BOBS

Posted on July 27, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

I’ve been through a lot of summers here on San Juan Island and I still let the summer slow down my content on this blog. Even with Covid-19 hanging over our heads, the summer-time crowd is as active as ever here in the islands. People are everywhere and I understand why. We can’t go to Canada because the border is closed, and no one wants us in Europe right now. So, taking a vacation to somewhere as beautiful as the San Juan Islands makes perfect sense. There are very few cases of Covid-19 here, and most are history anyway. I think there might be 5 or 6 active cases and that may be a stretch. The interesting part is that most of the cases were brought here by locals, not tourists. In the San Juans, it’s all about the outdoors and to be quite honest, that is the safest place to be. Some soothsayers proclaimed we would have a huge outbreak here fourteen days after the Fourth of July. Well damn, they were wrong! I am really looking forward to all of this going away and getting back to seeing faces without masks.

I acquired a few bottles of very good wine (I hope) from a friend I have referred to in the past as Dionysus. He has moved off the island and decided to share some of his stash with me and a few others. I have tried a few of the wines already, and the one that surprised me the most in a good way was the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. This is a well-known Sauv Blanc out of New Zealand. It used to be one of my favorites even though I couldn’t really afford it at the time. They lost their original winemakers who moved on to start Dog Point Winery, also in New Zealand. I don’t know the whole story, but real or imagined, I thought the quality went down a few notches. The Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc I was given was 2010, which was quitea bit after the said winemakers had made their exodus from the winery. I opened it fairly soon after getting it thinking there is no way a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand is going to be any good at ten years old. Boy was I wrong! It was stellar. A near-perfect balance of fruit and acidity, all in harmony. It wasn’t a grapefruit bomb like so many are from NZ. It had notes of lime, melon, kiwi and of course a pinch of grapefruit. It also had some nice minerality that rounded it out. Now, I am going to buy a bottle of the current vintage and try it. Dare I put one away in my cellar for a few years? Sauvignon Blanc is not known for its aging ability, but obviously there are exceptions. Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley in France is one of those exceptions. However, I would have never thought to look to New Zealand for and ageable white. That is what I love about the wine world. It is full of surprises. You could spend your life studying this subject and to your last breath, you will not know all there is to know.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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STAN’S PICK FOR JULY 2020

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

Well, 2020 has gotten off to a terrible start, unless you like wearing masks and social distancing. However, that doesn’t mean there is a lack of great value wines out there! As you all know, I love finding little wine gems and featuring them at the store where I work. This month is a Pinot Noir from a solid producer that I often go to for quality-to-price ratio wines. Oak Grove Winery runs the gamut of wines including Chardonnay, Viognier, Cab, Merlot, Petit Sirah a red blend and this new addition to their family that is my pick for July.

2018 Oak Grove Pinot Noir (California)… $10.

It is tough to find a good Pinot Noir in the ten dollar price range. Especially one that drinks as good as this one. Bright cherries and strawberries on the nose, joined by hits of black tea, red flowers and Root Beer. Round cherry notes on the palate, balanced by nicely integrated acidity. Root Beer and red flower notes ride underneath front to finish where a slight hit of spice shows up. A solid Pinot Noir for ten bucks, that would compliment salmon, ham, salads or the back deck quite nicely. (B)

Cheers!@

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

I recently had an interesting experience with vintage variation. I had in my possession, two bottles of K Vintners Northridge Merlot (Wahluke Slope, WA). One, a 2012 and the other 2011. I decided to open 2012 first and what I got was a powerful, nearly over-the-top-fruit Merlot. It had balance and was well made, but it smacked of a Robert Parker (retired now) high-scoring wine. It was loaded with ripe currant and dark cherry notes with a touch of chocolate underneath. It was good, but it was starting to go south as far as aging is concerned. It was ready to drink and I’m glad I popped the cork when I did. If you happen to have one, I suggest you drink it soon. The bottle I enjoyed was properly collared, so that was not an issue. To my point, the other K Vintners Northridge Merlot was 2011. I was a little worried this one was on its last legs so I needed to consume it soon.

I popped the cork on the ’11 and was totally shocked at the difference between the two vintages. I would say they were polar opposites. The ’11 had vibrant acidity that carried the wine front to finish on the palate. Notes of violets, tobacco, plums and cherries. It was mouthwatering, structured and balanced. It could easily age another five years. How can a wine from the same producer and the same vineyard site be so different? Vintage!

2012 was considered a great vintage in Washington State and 2011 was a tough vintage. Many of the ’12s received top scores from wine critics. Most were open-knit and ready to be consumed. 2011 was a cool and wet year, challenging the winemaker’s ability to deal with fruit that was phenolically challenged. Granted, many winemakers are up to the challenge of a tough vintage. A lot of the wines from 2011 did not receive high acclaim from critics. However, it was obvious that they needed some age on them if they were going to show their stuff. I have had quite a few reds from the 2011 vintage in Washington State and they are really starting to come out of their shell. It is exciting to me when a winemaker lets the vintage speak in the wine. Charles Smith did a fantastic job with the 2011 K Vintners Northridge Merlot. the ’12 was exactly what one might expect from that vintage and Charles is never shy about making unctuous reds. However, he didn’t attempt such an approach with the ’11 vintage and the result was a wine that I hope to get my hands on again and give it some more cellar time.

I am very excited today, because I am going to open some older Rieslings with some friends of mine that are even more geeky about Riesling than I am. We are talking a ’93 and ’96 Riesling from Alsace. Riesling from this region of the world is notorious for being able to age for many years. We will find out today, how they have held up and I am certain that you will hear the results either in this segment or a separate article. We are also going to open a ’94 Pinot Gris from Alsace. I am very curious about this one because I have never even considered aging a Pinot Gris. However, it is from Alsace and it is from a top producer. I am super stoked.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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FRIDAY’S FIVE

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

In a week’s time, I taste a boatload of wine (seriously). A lot of my friends think I’m lucky. Well, they’re right and I wouldn’t give this job up for the world. The only thing that makes my job hard, is my feeling of responsibility to taste the samples given to me as quickly as possible and to put my reviews either in my Moleskine, on my YouTube channel (Stan The Wine Man TV), or on Stanthewineman.com. Here for your reading pleasure, are five wines that I have reviewed in my Moleskine (good or bad), this past week.

2017 The Ned Pinot Noir (Marlburough, New Zealand)… $18.

A little smoke and char on the nose with a backdrop of dark cherries and red flowers with a kiss of cranberries. Cranberries and cherries on the palate with a splash of orange citrus front to finish. The citrus notes peak on the mid-palate into the cranberry-citrus driven finish with a touch of smoke underneath. (B-)

2015 Villalta Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore (Veneto, Italy)…$20.

Aromas of ripe currants, rose petal and rust. Currant and rust notes blend seamlessly on the palate with red flower and spice notes underneath. There is a slight tobacco hit on the mid-palate leading into a savory, long finish. Good acidity that is nicely integrated and will give it some aging potential. Maybe 5-8 years. (A-)

2017 Ca’ Dei Zago Prosecco (Valdobbiadene, Italy)… $21.

Aromas of yeast, bread dough, nuts and apples with a touch of pear. Sweet fruit on the palate up front and dries out on the crisp finish. Citrus and apple notes front to finish, backed by solid, balanced acidity. Nut and yeast note lurk in the background and come out on the finish where they linger. (B-/B)

2019 Villa Sparina Gavi Cortese (Gavi, Italy)… $16.

Applesauce, wet stone and apricot on the nose. Fresh on the palate, with notes of apple and apricot that expand on the mid-palate into the minerally finish where the apple notes take over with apricot in the background. Excellent balance of acidity, fruit and minerality with a long finish. (A+)

2018 The Ned Pinot Noir Rose’ (Marlburough, New Zeland)… $15.

Sweaty arm pits on the nose, joined by cherry and pink rose petal notes. Almost too powerful in the stink department. Strawberries and cherries on the palate, balanced by nicely integrated acidity. The fruit is ripe with a hit of watermelon joining up on the finish. This does not pretend to be a dry rose’ by any means, but it is well made. (C+/B-)

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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