Question: What is your opinion on using stemless wine glasses?

Answer: Popular choice for some whose use gives off more casual vibes being more durable with less chance of breakage where the stem meets the bowl. I usually carry a Riedel O stemless glass with an excellent bowl shape around in my backpack that I bring out at wine tastings to use when the only other choice is a small thick glass with a stem that is offered for my use. Personally I don’t like the movie star trend of holding any wine glass by the bowl. It tends to warm up the wine and leave fingerprints.

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This is a follow-up of my earlier posting on January 29, 2018 on a tasting of 1998 Right Bank Bordeaux. At a tasting dinner at CinCin restaurant in Vancouver on March 27, 2018 another 20 year check was done with 9 wines this time on 1998 Left Bank Bordeaux. As indicated previously this vintage generally favoured the merlot grape prominent in Right Bank wines because the early October rains hindered the phenolic ripeness and intensity of some more cabernet based Left Bank properties. Nonetheless the wines showed rather well and better than expected. Started with a sensational bottle of 1996 Roederer Cristal so rich and complex yet with that underlying acidity vibrancy of that celebrated vintage. Finished up with that usually early darkening bronze colour of forwardly Chateau Rieussec 1986 marmalade perfectly paired with a Granny Smith apple crème brulee. Some brief impressions of the 9 wines served in 3 flights:

1. Chateau La Lagune 1998
2. Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste 1998
3. Mystery Served Blind – Ridge Montebello 1998

La Lagune red ruby to the rim with an open herbal bouquet but tastes lighter simpler “Graves” like styling that is mature ready now. Grand Puy a paler rim showing more interesting classic cabernet Pauillac terroir. Also a bit lighter bodied than expected for this property but appreciate the classy elegance. Mystery a bit darker with more oak and fruit depth. Some California cab eucalyptus notes both on the nose and palate. Evolved in the glass more Bordeaux-like in a drier lighter lower alcohol (12.4) softer style. Could it be Lynch Bages? Interesting ringer that fits well here with 70/24/5/1 blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, and cabernet franc. More controversial lighter California cab year styling that was cherished by Robert Mondavi for the balance. All 3 of these on very drinkable plateau now and improved matched with delicious semolina gnocchi “romani” course with wood grilled wild mushrooms & pecorino al tartufo.

4. Chateau Leoville Barton 1998
5. Chateau Leoville Poyferre 1998
6. Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1998

Always exciting to try any vintage of the 3 Leovilles together! Here the 1998 in a so called “shoulder” vintage accentuates that admirable quality of old style Bordeaux – less ripe & less big – but uniquely stylish. Colours of this flight much deeper with Poyferre slightly paler on the rim. Classic Barton solid rich typical “iodine” nose notes with cool harder big muscled cabernet to admire. Contrasts well with more open herbs merlot of Poyferre that is elegant having more acidity and even though way less depth is more ready “most fun drinking” now.  Las Cases has that special complex bouquet with the best rich texture from that concentration of perfectly sorted fruit. All impressed in their own way plus improved with moist duck confit, crisp “roesti” potatoes, jus gras pairing.

7. Chateau Pape Clement 1998
8. Chateau La Mission Haut Brion 1998
9. Chateau Haut Brion 1998

This last flight from Pessac-Leognan (really a Central Bank between Right & Left in this vintage) was approached with great anticipation and did not disappoint. Pape Clement surprises with approval for the solid density of ripe fruit. Drinking nicely but no rush to drink up even if less aristocratic than the two neighbours. The twins have certainly evolved differently over the last decades. Good example here. La Mission has some of that historic Graves admirable “turned earth” cab statement but is more closed in and less typical with the higher 50% merlot in this blend. Needs more time to develop but not the perfect 1989. Haut Brion making an encore from the spectacular mystery wine presence in the Right Bank event again dominates here. Harvested last 2 weeks of September. Hard to pin down that ripe mocha lushness plus the “liquid nobility” superb tannin structure. Love the top vintages of this quality property and 1998 definitely is a respected vintage family member. Wood grilled Alberta lamb rack with Casteluccio heritage lentils, collard greens & rosemary jus was a delicious foil for a great flight of wines. Conclusion that 1998 Bordeaux can be a bit under the radar and there are some lovely wines to experience at 20 years of age – even from the less heralded Left Bank.

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Question: Notice a lot of recent vintages of white Burgundy have a cork similar to the composition of Champagne closures. What goes?

Answer: Yes the Diam company (parent also owns barrel makers Seguin Moreau) has been successful over the last nearly 15 years of providing an alternate cork closure from aggregated cork particles “glued” together for still wines consistency and to avoid TCA cork taint. The newest ones use polyurethanes derived from plants plus beeswax. Different lengths and versions provide varying oxygen transmission rates (OTR) and the retention of free sulphur dioxide (SO2). Diam 10 more expensive than Diam 5.  I have opened some high quality ones recently from Hugel, Maison Bouchard Pere, & Louis Jadot and admire their avoidance of both corked bottles and so far pre-mox issues. Admirable. Check them out.

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Usually the way the wine actually smells and tastes is more crucial than the stats behind it. However I have noticed at some recent tastings that the combination of both total acidity (TA) and residual sugar (RS) are most important to how you actually perceive the wine. This was brought home to me again at a tasting on March 22, 2018 to introduce Grant Stanley the talented new winemaker of SPEARHEAD (formerly Spierhead) Winery totally dedicated to become a quality “Pinot Noir House”. They showed their new vintage 2017 of their always popular Pinot Gris which always has freshness combined with just enough rich tropical fruit. However I mentioned at the event that this one seemed to me softer and slightly sweeter than their earlier vintages. Subsequently principal Bill Knutson kindly dug out the numbers on the last four vintages of his Pinot Gris as follows:

2017: Total Acidity 6.2 + Residual Sugar 6.0  – Made by Grant Stanley using 10% fermented in 2 year old French oak

2016: Total Acidity 6.6 + Residual Sugar 4.8

2015: Total Acidity 7.4 + Residual Sugar 4.7

2014: Total Acidity 8.0 + Residual Sugar 4.3

So interesting to see that the acidity indeed has actually dropped in each of the last 4 years while the residual sugar has increased. These factors influence your perception of the wine. It did for me. This doesn’t affect quality but it does question your best use of the wine. The crisper 2014 always was lovely matched with seafood but the marmalade 2017 is a brilliant aperitif but perhaps less versatile and a better pairing with Asian food. The combination of TA & RS is key. This was reinforced by tasting their 2017 Riesling with a higher RS 8.0 but also much higher TA 7.8 resulting in a more vibrant tension to the lovely lime fruit.

Another example is the history of outstanding Riesling from CEDAR CREEK ESTATE WINERY bringing in several earlier vintages at 9.9 alcohol with very high both TA & RS working so well together. New winemaker Taylor Whelan is continuing this success using “two picks” to combine the earlier lemon-lime notes with the later orange-tangerine ones. Let’s look at the last 3 vintages of their top Platinum Riesling Block 3 all with admirable low pH of 2.9 but with different TA, RS & Alcohol:

2016: Total Acidity 10.1 + Residual Sugar 14.8 with lower refreshing 10.5 alcohol – higher RS but very high vibrant TA!

2015: Total Acidity 7.6 + Residual Sugar 10.3 with 12 alcohol – a warmer year trying to capture that elusive TA

2014: Total Acidity 9.0 + Residual Sugar 8.2 with 12 alcohol – less RS but much more TA than 2015

All three vintages of these fantastic Riesling present themselves differently because of the combination of TA & RS.

Suggest looking at the back label for the stats hopefully provided by the winery for a better understanding of these 2 important varieties of Pinot Gris & Riesling to find the style you enjoy most!

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By Dion Hinchcliffe [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Question: Last week at an Italian restaurant in Boston my wife and I enjoyed a round bodied Cannonau di Sardegna at a fair price. What is the grape used?

Answer: Good value choice. Nice easy flavours in your wine from this thick skinned cannonau grape prominently grown in Sardinia. Your bottle may have been a blend with the addition of some other grapes but Cannonau is the same variety as Garnacha (Spain) or Grenache (France).

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