Yesterday was the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin Vancouver Chapter’s annual Summer Paulee focusing this time on only the whites from the commune of Puligny Montrachet. Last year was Meursault Perrieres (blog posting August 24, 2015). Corton Charlemagne was the theme in 2014 and the other 5 Grand Cru Burgundy whites in 2013. Always approach this exciting yearly event with great enthusiasm using it as an educational opportunity to study the specific commune characteristics, how the vintages are developing with bottle age, differences in vineyard terroir, who are the top producers and other insights into top white Burgundy. After tasting some 30+ samples and speaking about them at this event these are some of my brief conclusions:

1. Best bottles were clearly showing that special stone minerality with racy verve of balanced acidity and structure that puts this commune into medal contention for producing the most outstanding dry white wines in the world. Outstanding wines from Puligny usually have less of that Meursault AC accessible softer nutty hazelnuts though some of the same admirable characteristics of the more minerally outstanding Meursault Perrieres Premier Cru vineyards we explored last year.

2. Vintage Impressions:

(a) Oldest vintages included a surprisingly fresh complex 30 year old 1986 Clos de la Pucelle Domaine Jean Chartron and a solid 1990 Folatieres (by far the largest 1er cru vineyard) of Fabien Coche-Bouillot.

(b) Youngest year was the encouraging intense fruit shown by 2013s (Les Pucelles Paul Pernot & Champs Gain Latour Giraud).

(c) 2011 seemed in an easy lighter more forwardly style.

(d) 2010 had more depth (again Champs Gain from Latour Giraud was fresh and well balanced) but some bottles more forwardly (Clos du Cailleret Domaine de Lambrays).

(e) 2009 rich and softer especially 2 bottles of Batard Olivier Leflaive and Folatieres JL Chavy.

(f) 2008 was mixed with the most disappointing bottle of all a highly anticipated but badly pre-moxed Domaine Leflaive Clavoillon (similar issues with 2005 Garenne Magenta Louis Jadot – though their 3 year older 2002 was still alive and singing beautifully!). Cailleret from Pousse d’Or was delightful but for me the most complex complete wine of the day – though still a youthful treasure – was a magnum of 2008 Chevalier Grand Cru Bouchard Pere (another mag of 2004 Truffiere Bernand Morey was also a treat).

(g) 2007 generally preferred as a cleaner, crisper, fresher and more lively year (excellent value from just an AC Puligny from Domaine Leflaive) over yet again the rich softer 2006s (Drouhin AC) for this scribe but Ramonet AC was superb & a Criots-Batard-Montrachet Henri Boillot 2006 showed a fair amount of oak plus lovely fruit depth – though really was a Paulee interloper because Criots is wholly situated within the Chassagne-Montrachet AC and not Puligny!

(h) 2005 whites are celebrated with concentration but again here are not reaching the top quality or age ability of the reds. Garenne pre-mox as mentioned earlier with both the family run Domaine Jomain Referts & Jean Marc Morey Batard quite mature and ready for drinking up.

3.  Lots of producers showing high quality but the standout yet again was Henri Boillot. All three of his wines showed very well indeed. Not only his Criots but also a delicious cool fruit complex Mouchere 2007 and more forwardly Mouchere 2006. A name to remember and buy.

Enjoy these white Burgundy treasures – Puligny Montrachet is a great appellation!

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By Joseph Temple

Nothing quite conjures up heartwarming images of yesteryear more than the quintessential “icebox cake.” During a time that saw the meteoric rise of time-saving appliances and convenience foods, it was almost inevitable that a dessert which first got its start during the Roaring Twenties as the “no-bake” cake would become extremely popular in kitchens all across America.

Considered by many to be an evolution of Marie-Antoine Carême’s charlotte, this cake began its ascent after several companies including the National Biscuit Company (now Nabisco) printed recipes for the dessert on their packaging. By utilizing a new and revolutionary appliance known as the icebox—a precursor to the modern day refrigerator, housewives simply couldn’t get enough of this incredibly simple and easy-to-make cake.

Traditionally, the dessert is made by layering sponge cake, wafers or ladyfingers and coating them in whipped cream, custard or pudding. However, there is great room for variation as seen in the hundreds of different recipes that have appeared in various newspapers, cookbooks and magazines for nearly a hundred years. So why not give this cake a 21^st century makeover with ten ideas that are sure to impress your friends and family as you put a modern spin on this classic dessert!

Sources:

Byrn, Anne. American Cake: From Colonial Gingerbread to Classic Layer, the Stories and Recipes Behind More Than 125 of Our Best Loved Cakes. New York: Rodale, 2016.
Sagendorph, Jean & Sheehan, Jessie. Icebox Cakes: Recipes for the Coolest Cakes in Town. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2015.

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Question: I opened a red wine that smelled just like a box of Band-Aids in a jar of grape jam. What would cause that?

Answer: Quite a description! Not sure what your wine is but quite likely to be a young ripe Shiraz (or syrah) with that typical jammy sweet fruit that was tainted by the antiseptic-like notes of brett (brettanomyces). This is a wild yeast (pronounced brett-TAN-oh-MY-sees) that can provide some complexity at low levels but more usually gives lots of acedic acid with off odors like a Band-Aid smell. Also can intensify the flavours so is now being deliberately used in the making of some beers for that reason. Did you like the wine? Most tasters would consider it a fault.

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By Megan Mallen [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Fortunate this month to enjoy quite a few wines from Bordeaux of the 1982 vintage. I have been impressed by these beauties since their initial release at what turned out to be a very cheap price and their delicious drinking over the past 30+ years. They are of course now expensive and not always from well stored providence but they continue to amaze and can be of relatively good value compared to the high release price of current vintages available. Advanced vineyard methods including lower yields and cellar management with much less of the Grand Vin produced herald the more consistent recent vintages from say 2005, 2009, and 2010 than from 1982. However there still are some 1982 jewels that you may have hidden away for a special occasion or to be searched out for at auction.

Just had a superb bottle of 1982 Cheval Blanc from St. Emilion that has been my favourite from this vintage so far this year though 1982 Mouton Rothschild Pauillac made it a close race. St. Emilion was not the most successful appellation in 1982 but this particular bottle was still singing with complex rich full smooth opulence particularly in the mid palate and so balanced with integrated tannins. Neighbouring Pomerol is a more consistent AC in 1982 and La Conseillante served with the Cheval held its own particularly on the spectacular aromatic bouquet using the same grape mix of merlot & cab franc but in different ratios. I haven’t tried this year the impressive Petrus but have tried bottles of the other highly acclaimed First Growths including Latour, Lafite and La Mission Haut-Brion but they were not showing as 100 point bottles. Bottle variation!

However let’s leave the First Growths out of this. St Estephe are drinking well now with Montrose, Cos & Calon-Segur leading the AC. Graves & Margaux generally are less consistent in the 1982 vintage. There are other fantastic 1982s! Most Pauillac AC are outstanding now! Lucky to drink 1982 Grand Puy Lacoste quite often and it never seems to disappoint with the latest one tried showing explosive cedar tobacco with attractive complex round smooth textures. Just compared 78, 79, 82, and 83 Pichon Lalande and 82 beautifully ripe but given a close battle by the 83 in a different style. As I noted last year in my July 20 blog posting Jean-Michel Cazes says their “1982 Lynch Bages may have been consumed too early”.

My vote for best value most consistent AC in 1982 goes to Saint Julien. Served blind 4 top properties this month and all were impressive. Branaire-Ducru most advanced in colour and development but so elegant and marvellous currently. Leoville Barton classic deep more reluctant touch of iodine no rush but will improve further. Talbot a winner so solid with dense sweet black and herbal red fruits and approaching best plateau. Cordier big sister Gruaud Larose has more cedar cigar box but a tad rustic here – not the best bottle as usually is more outstanding! Other St Juliens not in this tasting all show exemplary now – led by Leoville Las Cases, Leoville Poyferre, Ducru Beaucaillou, Beychevelle, Langoa Barton, plus even St Pierre, Clos du Marquis, and Gloria. Treat yourself.

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By Joseph Temple

Of all the famous Supreme Court cases—from Marbury v. Madison to Bush v. Gore—there is one that oenophiles should be very familiar with: Granholm v. Heald, a landmark 5-4 decision in 2005 that completely changed the way consumers are able to purchase wine.  Dismantling an antiquated “three-tier” system that had been in place since the repeal of Prohibition, this decision finally gave wine lovers the ability to buy their favorite vintage across state lines.  The red tape that had existed for decades (and made little sense in the age of the internet) was finally ripped to shreds.  But to understand the importance of this case, you first need to understand the context behind the decision.

While the Twenty-first Amendment ended the “noble experiment” known as Prohibition, legislators also threw a curveball known as Section 2, which states, “The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.”  Essentially, states interpreted it to mean that they alone were the supreme authority when it came to all things related to alcohol.  So while national Prohibition officially ended in 1933, many states continued the practice with Mississippi being the last one to repeal its laws in 1966.  Of course, some states handed jurisdiction over to the local counties and municipalities—hence the term “dry county.”

Additionally, with fifty different sets of laws, what became known as a three-tier system was established by the wine industry, which regulated how their product reached the consumer.  Going from the winery to the wholesaler, and then on to the retailer, this system puts an enormous amount of power in the wholesaler’s hands.  As the middlemen, they determined which wines ended up on the shelves, leaving the door wide open for corruption and kickbacks.

Then came the Internet.

With wineries establishing e-commerce sites, consumers could now buy from the vineyard online, eliminating the entire role of the wholesaler.  And with websites tearing down the traditional barriers, a much greater selection was now available, allowing someone to have wines that weren’t available at the local shop shipped to them directly.

Attempting to turn back the clock, some states fought back against these new practices.  Two in particular—Michigan and New York—passed laws allowing in-state wineries to ship directly to consumers but banning out-of-state wineries from doing the same.  In what can only be seen as a flagrant attempt at unconstitutional protectionism, Eleanor Heald and her fellow oenophiles argued that the two states had violated the Dormant Commerce Clause, which states that Congress has the sole power to regulate commerce between the states.

After nearly a decade of battling in the courts, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments from both sides in December of 2004.  Less than two months later, the majority ruled in favor of out-of-state wineries, agreeing that the Twenty-first Amendment did not supersede the Commerce Clause. More than a decade after this decision, all but seven states have enacted some form of direct wine shipping.  However, since the states have autonomy over this matter, they still have the power to ban all forms of direct shipping, which several have done.  And matters such as the volume shipped and other requirements are still within their jurisdiction.  But without question, this case has definitely made it a lot easier to purchase your favorite wines online.  So the next time you place a website order and have it shipped via courier, you can thank the highest court in the land.

Sources:

Frank, Mitchell. (2016, August 2). How Wine Got Caught Between Commerce and States’ Rights. Wine Spectator. Retrieved from http://www.winespectator.com
Özer, Özalp & Phillips, Robert. The Oxford Handbook of Pricing Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Taylor, Robert. (2014, July 14). U.S. Wine Shipping Laws, State by State. Wine Spectator. Retrieved from http://www.winespectator.com
Zraly, Kevin.  Windows on the World Complete Wine Course. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2006.

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