Do the math people

I guess it is no secret that Americans suck at math, or just about anything difficult.

No wonder we're headed down the tubes.

Sort of like more bottles of 1947 Lafleur sold in the last 5 years than were ever produced.

And people jump in to say how it is possible.

A little math, if DRC produced 6000 btls of 1934 RC, then there had to be an average of less than 82 bottles consumed in the entire world per year since release for there to be a single bottle left. No one really does the math because they arbitrage the ignorance. Pretty much how big money is made in the US over the last 25 years, I guess.

Here is a Wine Spectator piece. Also check out eBob if you want. Be warned though, there is a lot of crazy going on.

Keeping it Reno

Sorry I’ve been away for so long, I only barely made it back alive. How does one describe Reno? I guess all the tattoo parlors and laser hair removal billboards do as good a job as I can. To the best of my knowledge, “Keeping it Reno,” involves lots and lots of drinking and confronting moral compromise. I’ve had a blast going back and forth to Reno through the snowboarding season and the cast of characters at the Imperial, Lincoln lounge, and Washoe wines has made me feel like I get local privileges. So a big vlm shout-out to all the Reno crew: Polack Matt, Ryan, Justin, Scotty, Markus, fucking Tilman, and everyone else who has taken me in. Most of all, my boy Dev, long lost brother that he is.

This is maybe the last place you would expect to find a thriving, albeit small, wine culture. It isn’t wine-geeky the way it can be other places, but among the group of friends that I have fallen in with, there is at least a general appreciation of fine wine and plenty of geekiness around the edges.

I managed to stay more or less inebriated for several days, so the following are just wines that stuck out in my mind.

2006 Do Ferreiro Cepas Vellas and 2006 Emilio Rojo Ribeiro

The second time in four days that I’ve had these two monsters of Galician wine side by side. To say that I am spoiled rotten is an understatement. As tactile and impressive as the Cepas Vellas is (downright salty), the Rojo is a wine of such tremendous balance and cut that it can astonish. I know I sound like a broken record, but these are probably the two greatest white wines of Spain and among the great wines of the world. They are a bit hard to find, but worth every penny. Everyone should at least try these.

2005 Pépière Muscadet

Went through several bottles of this. Drinking really well right now. Marc Olivier is a fucking genius and he has a posse.

2006 Pépière Clos des Briords and 2005 Pépière Granite de Clisson

Had these two while watching the Imperial Lounge baseball team featuring the Gold brothers on a beautiful summer-ish day. The Granite de Clisson is, for many reasons, more deeply pitched, intense and serious. The Briords is like medicine, a natural anti-depressant. I’ve never drunk this wine and not had it bring a smile to my face. It should become a permanent part of the national pastime. Maybe the Mets would win if they served this at Shea.

1993 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvée

This magnum was a gift from the sublime and imperious Ms. Lee Campbell. In a way, this wine reminds me of her. Peter Leim had an excellent description of this wine and Vilmart in general. Suffice it to say that it married a thrusting, implacable quartzish minerality to a certain bready broadness. It was a wine that made you sit up and take notice and stood out in a crowd of at least 25 open bottles. Even folks who didn’t know shit stopped and said, “Whoa!” So while I’m not entirely sold on this Champagne terroir thing, this wine is excellent and I’m going to try to find some more.

2004 Clape Cornas and 2004 Allemand Cornas Reynard

A bit of controversy here as a couple of folks vociferously advocated for the superiority of the Clape. I didn’t see it. It was marked by lots of smoky, meaty flavors, but that could be more an expression of yeast strain than terroir, especially at this young age. I’m not saying it isn’t good wine, it was very well balanced and I’d be happy to drink it, but the Allemand is so vastly superior in terms of depth, cut, precision, and complexity that in a forced choice, there is no choice. Some people mistake the fruit in Allemand for modernism, but that isn’t the case. There should be an expression of fruit from this terroir, and it is here in spades with a surprising mix of floral and meaty notes underlined by a driving granite-type minerality (anyone know the composition of the site?). A surging young wine that will benefit from years and years of cellaring, but like many young Allemand, is interesting and enjoyable now. My guess is that it will shut down soon, so if you want to see it as a young wine, I would suggest in the next year.

2001 Barthod Chambolle 1er Beaux Bruns

Pristine and excellent. Shows the generous nature of Beaux Bruns, but with Barthods signature precision. 2001 has been an exceptional vintage at Barthod and this wine was another testament to that.

Off for the weekend

As you may know, it has been a crazy couple of days for the vlm and the VLM-TR has experienced tons of new traffic. I hope those folks have found something they like and/or think is useful.

I'm off to spend the weekend with friends up in Reno. We like to drink, so there should be some good updates when I get back, if I survive...

Southern hospitality in the Southland

I was invited to dinner by a very generous host whom I only met the night before. Say what you want, but folks in Southern California have been open and generous to a fault. I have felt very welcomed here. No one tells me “you don’t know SoCal!” I was enjoying the conversation and food so the notes are a bit abbreviated.

1995 Pol Roger Cuvée Winston

Showed as well as the last bottle. Maybe a bit more structured. Very much in the house style, which is fine with me as I grew up with Pol Roger (dad was a big Churchill buff).

1996 Jadot Chevalier Demoiselles

This wine had come up in conversation the previous evening. Notorious as a victim of the premature oxidation problem, this bottle showed very few signs that it was suffering. Has a real tactile grip and mineral presence. Very, very good.

2004 Jadot Chevalier Demoiselles

Lighter and prettier than the 1996, if less tactile. Bright and snappy and really shows the Puligny-ness of the vineyard. I’m not sure that 2004 has produced wines for the long haul (or that any white Burgundy is a long haul wine anymore) but the racy snap of the vintage is certainly appealing.

2005 Sauzet Chevalier

Not the equal of the two wines before it. Almost a bit too big, enough to make it a tad loose although not sloppy. Nice enough, but didn’t make near enough of an impression for me to pony up the dough for it. Seems to lack the clarity, incision, and presence of the best Chevalier I’ve had. In essence, a wine I’ll drink on someone else’s dime.

1989 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe

We all wondered if the 1989 and 1990 had been switched. This is the prettiest I’ve ever had the 1989 show. It is usually a bit brett-y and brooding. Not tonight. Really lovely ruby color. Pretty nose of desiccating red berries, hints of mushroom, and leather. Enough acidity and remaining structure to pair very well with the food.

1990 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe

And this showed like an 89. Darker color, more tense and full of earthy animal character. In the end, I’m not sure that the decanters weren’t mistakenly switched. I wouldn’t bet the farm on it, but the wines showed so much like the other, that a rational mind tends towards the logical answer. Either the 1990 has become a brute or the 1989 has become the belle of the ball. Neither seems terribly likely, but I can’t say for sure.

2005 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe

After the 1989 and 1990, this was like a barrel sample. Not much to say, although it did seem a little fluffy for young Beaucastel.

1958 Francesco Rinaldi Barolo

Graceful, expansive, inviting, warm, and silky. Easily the wine of the evening for me. Beautiful aged Barolo in every way in a feminine srtyle. Probably near the end of its drinking window, and maybe at the beginning of decline, but a reminder of why we cellar wine in the first place. It’s amazing how charming and lovely these old Barolo can be.

1967 Francesco Rinaldi Barolo

DOA.

1961 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo

Very, very strange. Completely overwhelmed by VA and some bacterial flaws. Very dark in color. Bizarrely so. I have no idea what this portends to other bottles.

1989 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo

A controversial bottle. I thought it was corked, others thought it was just strange and young. It didn’t have an obnoxious corkiness, but something more akin to a bleach smell. Whatever the problem, a shameful showing for a wine of immense pedigree.

1997 Dal Forno Recioto di Valpolicella

Big bold and delicious. While I found this wine to be excellent, if a bit large scaled, I’m not sure it is worth the hype. Not something I would seek out, but a glass at the end of the night was a treat.

This is funny

If you are like me, and numbers and things like it are important to you, you have no idea why Hilary Clinton is fighting so hard and dirty for a nomination she cannot win.

Keith Olberman gives a funny run-down of Clintonista thinking.

Jean-Paul Brun screwed by French authorities

Dressner just wrote about it on his blog.

Jean-Paul is a copain of mine who makes excellent wine. The L'Ancien is an especially excellent and even important wine.

See what Joe has to say:

http://www.joedressner.com/

Fight the Power!!!!

A few 2005 Bourgueil

Got together with a group of folks to taste some Bourgueil. The leader of this pack was introduced to me by Mr. Rockss and Fruit himself.

2006 Breton Bourgueil Franc de Pied

Being its normal temperamental self. Good bottles are fantastic, but it has to be in the mood, not you. This did get better after a few hours in the decanter, but was still underwhelming because you know how good it can be. A wine I really don’t buy anymore, but will drink at restaurants from time to time.

2005 Yannick Amirault Bourgueil La Coudraye

I guesss the best way to describe this wine is “correct”. All the right stuff in all the right places. Balanced and bright. I’d be perfectly happy with this off a restaurant list, but not something I’d seek out.

2005 Breton Breton Bourgueil Clos Sénéchal

Not surprisingly, this was the best wine of the night, and clearly so. What was surprising was how approachable it was. Almost feathery in its delineation as rocky in its detail as Sénéchal often is. I love the blue-ishness of the fruit with the dark grey stoniness of the wine. There is a hard to describe textural feel to the wine, maybe it’s the striations of slate, or some such. You’ll know it when you taste it. In many ways, this is my favorite wine that the Bretons make, even if it isn’t the most important one (that distinction goes to the sublime Perrières). A wine to seek out and buy in as much quantity as affordable.

2005 Chanteleuserie Bourgueil Vieilles Vignes

Just like I remember them. A meatier, brawnier, earthier interpretation of the idiom. This was the first Bourgueil I remember having and I don’t think the style has changed in all that time. Certainly more rustic, but if you’re in the mood, it would do nicely. Should age well in the medium term. It is still pretty cheap and could be one of those wines you cellar for a couple of years and then use as a house red. Certainly worth thinking about.

2005 Yannick Amirault Bourgueil Les Quartiers

This was the biggest, and maybe most 2005, wine of the evening. Really deep, ripe, and rich fruit. Very large and broad with tons of fruit over the structure. This is one of those wines to serve to people who don’t think they like Loire reds. Or maybe not, fuck those people. Anyway, I might try to hunt down a few bottles of this as it could make interesting old bones if the underlying structure I sense develops in the right way. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this.

2004 Domaine Jo Pithon Anjou Les Bergères

I brought this because we never seem to have a white for the end of the night and my recent experience with an excellent Pithon Savennières had me curious. While this wasn’t at the same level as that wine, it was a very good expression of chenin from 2004. By that I mean, generous, a bit honeyed and ready to go tonight. Glad I brought it or we wouldn’t have had anything to drink with the cheese…