The birthing of The Hammer

Imagine the dream of opening your own restaurant or starting your own winery. I was fortunate enough to hook up with a world-class winemaker who has multiple 90+ point wines in The Wine Spectator, who allowed me to live my whim. We produced what I hope you will think is a serious wine. Flashing back to April of 2003.....

Have you ever taken the flight back from South Africa to Atlanta? The seventeen hours gives one the opportunity to do a lot of thinking. I had been a wine importer’s liaison representing perhaps the most important selection of South African wines being brought into the US. Regular visits with many of South Africa’s top wineries and cutting edge winemakers had put plenty of ideas in my head. While sitting in concourse A at Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport, waiting for my flight back to Jacksonville, I decided to make a call. The call was to Jose Conde of Stark/Conde in Stellenbosch.

The ex-pat status of Jose is intact as he is originally from Kansas City. Jose is a graphic designer by trade and fell in love with a lovely lady while graphic designing in Tokyo. Turns out that Jose’s wife, Marie, has parents who lived in Japan but moved back to her father's home country and purchased a significant vineyard in Stellenbosch. After $300 sushi dinners in Tokyo and two adults with two children living in a 600 square foot apartment began getting old, Jose and Marie also decided to move to South Africa. The South African graphic design business was not what Jose was looking for and he began taking winemaking courses. When he decided to take the plunge into winemaking, he was guided by one of the best in the country if not the world, Neil Ellis.

Jose makes his wine in a converted house that is behind the Neil Ellis winery. Today his winery is light years ahead of where it was when Jose first began making wine there in 1998. The walls have been gutted and the size has been expanded. When you try to picture a ‘garagiste’ winery, you need look no further than Stark-Conde Cellars. Jose originally began producing less than 1000 cases of wine per year. The winery is now chugging along at between 2 and 3000 cases. There are no forklifts, just biceps and triceps lugging chilled, 20kg boxes to the sorting table. The must is all punched down by hand in half ton bins. When the harvest is in full force, Jose may break out the 3 ton bin. The 3 ton bin gives a humble demeanor to the puncher who feels that they are the master of the half-ton bin. I ate everything in sight for six weeks and lost weight after dealing with the 20 kilo grape relay races and the six times a day punch downs. I encouraged Jose and Marie to open up a spa-retreat where they could receive free labor and still be paid a couple of grand a week per person by their free labor.

Jose and I initially met at a ‘Wines of South Africa’ tasting at the Helmsley Palace in New York. Being our company’s liaison to the South African wines, I was helping the wineries that we represented pour their wines. My associate, Michael Swain came up to me and mentioned that he thought that some of the most interesting wines that he tasted during the event were at the Stark/Conde table and they were not currently represented in the US market. Michael was right, the wines were terrific. Being with a semi-progressive/semi-conservative company, I had to convince the President of our company that we should take on Jose’s wines. Given the small amount of wine that Jose produced, I was able to barter a deal based on the fact that I agreed to sell the whole allocation of Stark/Conde in Florida should it not sell elsewhere.

Back to the Hammer. When I called Jose from Atlanta, my thoughts were to try and produce a wine differently than Jose was producing. Jose’s wines are terroir-driven from the Jonkershoek Valley. The gentle punch-down micro-vinification in half-ton bins are very similar to the techniques used in Burgundy. This procedure brings out the silkiness in Jose’s wines and tends to showcase his vineyard’s terroir. My thought was to try and put a bit of oomph in the process by fermenting in 500 liter barrels turned on their side with the heads off. The fermentations were vigorous, the integration with the new oak successful and the wine now sports a body rich in glycerin with a rich and toasty ‘Starbucks-like’ character. Given that the capacity of fermenting in a 500 liter barrels can only handle around 40 percent of the juice that will fill the barrel, we ended up fermenting what we could not accommodate in the barrels in Jose’s half- ton bins. The half-ton bins tempered the new 500 liter French oak barrels and eventually enhanced the balance of the Hammer. The picture above shows Jose's previous sorting table for the selection of the best grapes. Jose now has a new high tech version that is much quicker and more precise. I had recruited soldiers for the harvest. The guy in orange is Wine Warehouse founder Tom Dorn.

The other difference between The Hammer and Jose’s Shiraz wines is that The Hammer was produced from multiple terroirs with the hope that the multiple sources will contribute to the complexity of the wine. After all, Grange is produced from multiple terroirs. Jose’s wines look for site specificity to provide a reference point to his wines. The Hammer looks for…….well…..whatever it is that we think we can do from wherever it is that we think we can do it, with the hope of creating a more harmonius whole.

Pre-vintage decisions are often carried out in a crystal ball. We had no idea how our presumptions would turn out and unfortunately some of them failed. One of our sites on the Stellenbosch/Paarl border turned out to have a lot of stress in the vines which in turn showed in the juice. In this case, stress equaled rubber. The glass half full here is that even though we lost money selling this juice in bulk, I’m certain that I lost at least two pounds punching these grapes and was likely to be sporting much more upper-body definition from the experience.

Our site in Wellington was not far from our friend Marc Kent of Boekenhoutskloof’s site, which had what is called in wine lingo; a four by four. This phenomenon is where one’s acid is at or below four grams per liter and one’s pH is at or above the 4.0 range. This situation would have the professors at UC Davis’ heads spinning as this is the perfect equation for instability in a wine. We decided to purchase a bit of Tannat, the grape that one can find in Madiran which is know for its strength, spiciness and acidity, thus figuring that we could blend the lower pH and more acidic Tannat into the Shiraz and balance out this 4x4. The Tannat seemed nice and spicy, but this was in a very subtle way and we ended up not blending it and keeping it by itself. In an un-Marc-Kent-like fashion we succumbed to the chemistry gods and broke out the bag to bring the pH of the Wellington Shiraz down from 4.04 to 3.8. The Davis profs heads are still spinning, but now at a slower rate. The rest of our lots escaped the rath of the bag. The Hammer wines were bottled unfiltered. The heads are beginning to spin faster again.

In addition to the Wellington fruit, we harvested a few tons of Shiraz from a different site on the Paarl/Stellenbosch border, a ton from the Bottlery Hills in Stellenbosch, a few tons from one parcel in Jonkershoek and a half-ton from the block that goes into Conde’s Syrah and Neil Ellis’ Vintners Select Shiraz. Our eight tons ended up being just over four tons worth of production when all was said and done. We had to make a selection with our discarded lots being blended off into someone’s soup of Shiraz intended for the mass market. My hope is that our discards helped somebody’s blend. One grows attached to their different lots when you have done all you can to make them the best that they can be. Unfortunately if the flavor and aroma profile is not where you want it, the juice has to go.

Pictured above is William the crew chief at the winery. William, Zola and Joseph are an integral part of the harvest at Stark/Conde. They all speak Xhosa (pronounced by clicking your tongue and then saying o-za.) William's English is very good with Zola and Joseph understanding more English than they spoke. We listened to the Xhosa radio station during much of the grunt work and I even picked up a few words from William.

So there you have it. There are two Hammer wines from South Africa in 2004; a mere 270 cases of the Shiraz and 95 cases of the Tannat. Fifty cases of Shiraz made its way to the UK and is being sold by Richard Kelley, MW. Currently the Tannat has fleshed out beautifully and the Shiraz is indeed smokin.’

A recent e-mail from Jose: Hi Gregg, Just wanted to let you know that I had a bottle of The Hammer last night (March 19, 2007) and it was absolutely fantastic. I was really pleased. I think it will benefit from a bit more time in the bottle, but it was really good. I hope you will agree. Regards, José

This Shiraz has an opaque blue-purple hue. The bouquet is deep with plummy and blue fruits combined with smoked meat and roasted coffee. The initial impression on the palate is silky and broad. The mid-palate is expansive with the deep blue fruits coming through with vanilla and toasty notes on the lingering finish. Beautiful stuff. Substantial. Produced by nice guys. Drinking smooth and complex now but has a few years to go before peaking.

The Hammer ‘Coastal’ South Africa Shiraz 2004, Retail $29.99 Warehouse $19.99

This Tannat has around 15% of Shiraz blended in to give it a round attack on the palate. The color has medium plus depth with an eggplant purple hue. Raspberries scream from the glass with a slight meaty and light vanillan tone. Again this is silky on the palate with medium plus body. The raspberry-vanilla swirl hangs out for a long time on the finish. A super value for the price considering it was all produced by hand.

The Hammer ‘Coastal’ South Africa Tannat 2004, Retail $17.99 Warehouse $12.99

You CAN touch this………… They will be in the Wine Warehouse stores early next week. Hammer Time………

The Stark and Conde wines are limited production offerings. The current releases are:

Stark Syrah 2004, Retail $25.99 Warehouse $ 18.99

Dark and racy, with cherry, currant and blackberry notes stitched together with sanguine, vanilla and mineral hints. Long, tangy finish. Drink now. 391 cases produced. 87 pts Wine Spectator

Stark Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Retail $26.99 Warehouse $ 18.99
Nice focused mix of red and black cherry, grilled herb, mineral and toast notes. Streamlined finish. Drink now through 2008. 533 cases produced. 88pts Wine Spectator

Conde Syrah 2003, Retail $34.99 Warehouse $ 26.99

Ripe and streamlined, with a pure beam of black cherry and raspberry fruit stitched with tobacco, mineral and judicious toast. Solid, focused finish. Drink now through 2007. 164 cases produced. 90pts Wine Spectator

Conde Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Retail $ 41.99 Warehouse $ 31.99

Structured, with concentrated currant, coffee, bittersweet cocoa and dark olive notes and a tight, muscular finish. Needs modest cellaring to open up fully. Drink now through 2009. 396 cases produced. 90 pts Wine Spectator

South Africa is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and so are many of the wines produced there. A real progressive vibe is emerging in South Africa's wine scene. Many producers are isolating their best lots and treating them with the care and expertise that puts these cuvees in high company. Will write more about this next week. Dankie!

And now, a brief word from the progressive wing of the Chilean wine industry…

The last time that I was in Chile, I can recall being on pins and needles. We were sent down as a contingent of good will and with the main goal of renewing a US distribution contract for the Santa Rita Winery for another five years. Our meeting was with Mr. Ricardo Claro who is a business tycoon in Chile. Although publicly traded, Mr. Claro controls Vina Santa Rita, Carmen Winery and has a significant share with the Rothschilds in the Los Vascos Winery. Mr. Claro owns the major bottle producing facility in Chile, owns a radio and television station as well as controlling a long term lease for the main port of Chile. He is obviously a very busy man and one who has less patience than most. Even though he was renewing our contract, it never seemed like we could do enough to please him. Mr. Claro is a traditionalist who hoped that his winery would carry itself the in the same manner that a traditional Bordeaux Chateau would. Santa Rita produces some very nice wines although things did not change very quickly or progressively there as Mr. Claro had to sign off on virtually everything. Export managers rarely lasted more than a few years. And now for something completely different……………..

As I blog, I am currently traveling in Chile with Senor Pulgar and his Crackberry. I arrived here in Santiago on Monday morning and proceeded to spend Monday evening at the Cono Sur manor house in Chimbarongo which is in the Colchagua Valley. The manor house has been refurbished from its long history and has some nice modern touches to it. Cono Sur’s manor house is not a shrine but is a celebration of the estate’s past as well as its future. Although owned by the same family that owns Concha y Toro, Cono Sur is free to experiment with new wine regions, grape varieties as well as new techniques in the winery. The average age of Cono Sur’s employees is somewhere in the low 30’s which is more akin to a dot-com company than what they now are; a substantial winery.

The Southern Cone; and we’re not talking vanilla swirl ice cream here… The Cono Sur name refers to the winery’s geographic origin; it represents wines made in South America's southern cone, on whose western edge lie Chile and its numerous wine valleys. Cono Sur Vineyard & Winery was founded in 1993, with the specific goal of producing premium, expressive and innovative wines conveying the spirit of the new world. The wines that they produce are as they say ‘distinct wines without the emphasis of ancient family trees or bottles covered with the dust of time.’ Cono Sur embodies a fresh and contemporary approach to viticulture and winemaking combined with passion for quality and innovation that cannot be denied. Cono Sur is strongly into organic and sustainable viticulture. The geese up top are eating vine pests (burritos) so that Cono Sur doesn't have to spray the vines with chemicals. Stay tuned for new offerings with 'organic' designations.

Proving that they are progressive and indeed ahead of their time, the most exciting project at Cono Sur is their program with Pinot Noir. This project was happening long before the movie ‘Sideways.’ Cono Sur began their Pinot Noir project in 1999, with the idea of producing the finest Pinot Noir in Chile. After that goal was achieved, they set out to create a world quality Pinot Noir that is unique, expressive and yet still indicative of its new world roots. Old world expertise comes from Martin Prieur of Domaine Jacques Prieur, the seasoned Pinot Noir winemaker who was integral in helping Cono Sur to select many of the best Chilean terroirs for Pinot Noir and who guides them on how to optimally care for these vineyards. Under the radar, Cono Sur may have become the most sustantial producer of Pinot Noir in the world; this years estimate is one-quarter of a million cases. I'm sure that the most popular bumper sticker in the Cono Sur parking lot is 'Gracias Sideways!'

Grapes from the selected Pinot lots are harvested by hand and carried in small containers to the sorting table. After a thorough check, bunches are de-stemmed taking extreme care not to crush the berries. The fruit is then placed in open top fermentors where they undergo carbonic maceration (whole berry fermentation) at very low temperatures, for around seven days. In the next stage, grapes are carefully foot trodden and color extraction is enhanced by manual punch downs of the cap. Once the primary fermentation is finished, the wine is racked by gravity to new French oak barrels where they will complete the malolactic conversion.

Wine Warehouse has just received in four of Cono Sur’s selections: Starting with Pinot Noir…….

Cono sur ‘Vision’ Pinot Noir 2005 is fresh, elegant and aromatically intense. This wine is everything a good Pinot Noir should be, and more. Sporting a beautiful, bright ruby red color, it comes from a Rapel valley corner whose foggy, cool microclimate and balanced stone-clay soils that are recognized as a unique site for the variety. Fruit notes of cherry, strawberry, black plum and raspberry combine with a hint of dark chocolate, floral and earthy tones filling the mouth. The wine finishes with a silky and nicely structured flow. Please tell me if you find another ten dollar Pinot Noir wine on this planet that can touch this. Hammer time!

Cono Sur ‘Vision’ Pinot Noir 2006, Retail $13.99 Warehouse $9.99

Cono Sur ‘Vision’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 the grapes for this Cab come exclusively from the Maipo valley which is Chile’s oldest and felt by many to be its finest growing region for this variety in Chile. This deep ruby red colored wine displays intense and complex aromas of cassis, plum, cherry and wild berries, enhanced by hints of black pepper and smoke. It has a full bodied core of flavor in the mouth, combining with round and ripe tannins that lead to a long and persistent finish.

Cono Sur ‘Vision’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Retail $13.99 Warehouse $9.99

Cabernet Sauvignon Range 2005, has a deep and impressive ruby-red color. This Cabernet is round, mouth-filling, to-the-point and flavorful. Notes of blackcurrant, blackberry, plum and cherry fill the nose, with hints of vanilla, and a smokey tone. This value wine has beautiful structure, balance, with an elegant length to it.

Cono Sur ‘Range’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Retail $9.99 Warehouse $7.99




Cono Sur Vision Sauvignon Blanc is born of crisp Sauvignon Blanc grapes produced from new plantings in a vineyard in the the exciting Casablanca Vineyard that is only only 5 miles from the sea. There is a spectacular ocean view from the top of its vine-covered hills. The strong Pacific Ocean influence and the red clay soils contribute to style this refreshing, crisp, fresh and pungent offering. This 'Savvy' sports notes of lemon-lime and grapefruit, with fresh and bracing acidity, mineral tones and a hint of passion fruit. It's finely balanced and great value.

"Grassy, citrus and fennel. Elegant, almost sancerre-like. Grapefruit and herby, with incisive acidity. Well balanced, long."
Decanter magazine, September 2006.

Cono Sur ‘Vision’ Sauvignon Blanc 2006, Retail $13.99 Warehouse $9.99

I guess it’s time to head to Argentina. Buenos blogos……..

Rolling, rolling, rolling…keep those good wines rolling……

Philip Shaw is a household name in wine circles and one of the world's leading winemakers. Formerly the winemaker at Rosemount as well as company winemaker for the Penfolds group of wines. Philip is known for raising the bar on wine quality with modern, vibrant, expressive wines. He approaches each aspect of winemaking with a healthy mix of innovation and unrelenting quality standards. Do you recall that string of Rosemount Shiraz’s that made The Wine Spectator’s top 100 list even though they retailed for less than ten bucks? How does he do it? Philip is involved in every aspect of wine production, from studious regional assessment, vineyard site development, and functional winery design, through to crafting wines that set new benchmarks for vinous modernity, intrinsic quality, and are fantastic values.

Philip has twice been awarded the prestigious Robert Mondavi Trophy for International Winemaker of the Year, first in 1986 and again in 2000. He received Australia's top winemaking honor in 1999 as Qantas/Gourmet Traveler Wine Magazine's Australian Winemaker of the Year. His many accolades include 67 wines that have scored more than 90 points in the Wine Spectator; 17 of these have been included in the magazine's Top 100 wines of the Year lists. I had the pleasure of spending a morning with Phil at the Rosemount winery in the Lower Hunter around ten years ago. This was just a functioning winery with no frills, bells or whistles. Phil sure could make it function though.

Phil travels the world to talk and taste with fellow winemakers across Australia, France, Chile, California and most recently Oregon. He occasionally consults on international winemaking projects, such as the recent Cypress range with his son, Daniel Shaw, winemaker at J.Lohr Winery in California.

Since departing Penfolds in 2003, Philip has devoted himself to bringing the cool-climate, high-altitude Australian wine region of Orange to the attention of the world through three highly anticipated new brands - Climbing and Rolling, and his family-owned signature brand, Philip Shaw Wines from his own Koomooloo Vineyard. Although having been in winemaking for forty years, it is still passion for Phil.




Orange is located approximately 124 miles west of Sydney on the slopes of the Great Dividing Ranges. The soils were formed by volcanic activity coupled with limestone build up, thus giving the vineyard a predominance of free draining red clay loam soils. The soil incorporates a smattering of rock which assists drainage and overall balance for the vines. Philip is blessed with being able to work with a contiguous 1250 acre vineyard which is the fourth largest private estate in Australia. The Rolling Wines are sourced from the Central Ranges region of the vineyard. The Central Ranges are located at around 600 meters above sea level. With this elevation, cool temperatures couple with abundant sunshine, giving the fruit incredible color with bright and vibrant flavors. The elevation of the vineyard affects the climate where a mean January (August equivalent in the northern hemisphere) temperature can be as low as 18 degrees Celsius which is 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Mild to warm summers mean that temperatures, which seldom rise above 30C (86 Fahrenheit), are offset by cool to extremely cold nights during the growing season.

Production of the Orange vineyard averages less than three tons to the acre which is incredibly low for Australia and in particular for a wine that will retail at under ten dollars.




Rolling Chardonnay is harvested at night to maximize flavor and avoid oxidation, with much of the procedures being largely hands off with just a light stabilization prior to bottling. A very small percentage of oak was used to highlight the fruit. The end result is a rich, clean wine with vibrant fruit. This is not an over-the-top, oaky wine that can sometimes seen dancing around in people’s wine glasses. Rolling Chardonnay has peach and melon fruit aroma balanced with a very light toasting and vanillin oak character.The wine has a medium structure, good weight on the mid palate with refreshing white peach flavor on the finish.

Rolling Chardonnay 2005, Retail $11.99 Warehouse $7.99

The Rolling Shiraz is fermented at a cool 25°C (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and pressed before dryness to enhance its fruit character. Phil made sure not to bully the fruit with too much oak or tannin. Both the Shiraz and Cabernet Merlot show elegant but powerful flavors. The color is medium red with a deep hue. The aroma shows strong vanillin and chocolate characters with a touch of spice. The mid palate has good weight and softness and the soft berry characters carry through to the finish.

Rolling Shiraz, Retail $11.99 Warehouse $7.99

Philip Shaw’s exquisite craftsmanship is on display in this rather inexpensive, yet strikingly impressive red blend. Cool climate Orange's future looks rosy with this sort of stylish Bordeaux-like blend hitting the market. The grapes are also fermented at 25°C and pressed before dryness to enhance its fruit characters. The blending provides good structure of the Cabernet with the softness and fullness in the mid palate of the Merlot. This wine shows off fruit, rather than hiding it behind excessive oak, residual sugar or tannins. The aroma shows strong vanillin and chocolate characters with a touch of spice that follows through on the palate.

Rolling Cabernet Merlot 2004, Retail 11.99 Warehouse $7.99

Roll on in to your local Wine Warehouse and try Phil’s wines. You’ll be glad you did.

Age has its benefits; and we’re going back to the beasts…..

What’s that equation again? I think that it’s ‘density equals mass over volume?’ In the land of dense and highly extracted wines, the benefits of age are referring to ‘vine age.’ The beast refers to this week’s new find; a profound, old vine Shiraz from Australia; the 2005 Glaetzer Amon Ra. The Amon Ra 05 is a beast of a wine; a wine that you need to wear a helmet when drinking it. My first blog discussed a visit with Ben Glaetzer and his Heartland wines. Ben’s Heartland wines are birthed from fantastic, cooler climate sites on the Adelaide coast. Vineyards in the Barossa Valley are a different animal than those on the Limestone Coast. Fruit for the Amon Ra comes from the aptly named and famous ‘Ebenezer’ vineyard in the north west of the Barossa Valley. Amon-ra Shiraz is sourced from 80-110 year old, non-grafted bush vines which are exceptionally low yielding. The oldest vines bears only 1/2 to 1 ton per acre whereas younger vines there will produce 2 1/2 to 3 tons per acre. The Ebenezer old vines are not irrigated. The very old vines require minimal attention. Their deep root structure means they are self-sufficient and can adapt to climatic extremes. Old vines tend to produce less but more concentrated grapes. Higher skin to pulp ratio equals more intensity in the wine. Get ready for some intensity.

Let’s revisit winemaker Ben Glaetzer. Not only was he Robert Parker’s ‘Australian Winemaker of the Year,’ with praise such as ‘he has shown an exquisite talent for accessing fabulous vineyards and turning out world-class wines, he has also been Quantas Airlines ‘Young Winemaker of the Year.’ When we originally met with Ben and his Heartland importer, we had a lunch to run through his full range of wines. It didn’t surprise us when we received a friendly Aussie greeting and the first words out of Ben’s mouth were, ‘g’day mate, care for a beer?’ Ben’s winemaking skills extend out past just the Heartland wines as he also fashions the Mitolo, Glaetzer and Amon Ra wines.

Let me hit you with some knowledge: As the King of all Gods, Amon-Ra is considered the most powerful figure in Egyptian mythology. The temple of Amon-Ra is recorded as the birthplace of commercial winemaking, having the first ever large scale vineyard grown specifically to make wine for the citizens of the temple.

Ben’s description of the 2005 Amon Ra Shiraz; ‘Dense purple color, the nose displays notes of blackberry, cherry, nutmeg and intense spice. The wine is voluptuous and yet seamlessly elegant. Supple tannins complement richness and viscosity. It is slightly more fruit driven than the 2004 Amon-Ra. Whereas the 2004 displayed purity and elegance at release, the 2005 will require a little more time to settle down in bottle. The tannin structure and sheer fruit weight of the wine will enable long-term cellaring from 12-18 years.’ For any of you who take grape seed extract supplements as a good source of anti-oxidants, I have to think that with the amount of dry extract in this wine that you would be able to skip the grape seed pills for a few months.

The 2005 vintage in Barossa provided conditions for making exceptional red wines. 2005 was one of the mildest growing seasons on record enabling winemakers like Ben to leave his Shiraz on the vine until early April, which allowed the fruit to be harvested with intense color and ripe tannin. The 2005s are more fruit forward than the 2004s and have slightly tighter, 'muscular' tannins with longer cellaring potential.

‘The profound 2005 Shiraz Amon Ra is fashioned from a dry grown, 100- to 110 year-old vineyard, and spends 14 months in a combination of 100% new French and American barrels as well as 300-liter hogsheads. A saturated purple color is followed by scents of creme de cassis, incense, licorice, black raspberries, graphite, and sweet wood. It unfolds beautifully on the palate to reveal terrific richness, full-bodied power, great definition, and lovely elegance. This exquisite Shiraz is still young, but it possesses a degree of accessibility. It should age for two decades. It is a superb example of cutting edge winemaking being utilized on ancient Shiraz vines in the Barossa.’ 98 points Wine Advocate

Amon Ra Shiraz 2005, Retail $74.99 Warehouse $64.99

When was the last time that you saw a Parker '98' being available let alone being available below retail?

We still have a few cases available of Ben’s Heartland 2005 Viognier/Pinot Gris from Langhorne Creek.

Ben’s notes: ‘The nose is bursting with stone fruits – peaches and apricots and some lime citrus characters. The delicious multi – layered palate begins with typical Viognier pear flavors intermingling with fresh melon flavors from the Pinot Gris.’We bought this wine immediately after first tasting it. Wow! Many straight Viogniers can appear to be pretty sappy. This wine has tremendous balance and lift, with the Pinot Gris adding complexity and texture. Honeysuckle, lemon and green melon flavors scream out. Has a minerality not often associated with new world Viogniers or Pinot Gris for that matter. Not a typical grape combination. Certainly worth a try. Has been a real crowd pleaser.

Heartland Viognier/Pinot Gris 2005, Retail $19.99 Warehouse $15.99

Wasn’t it David Bowie who sang ‘skip those grape seed pills and put your helmet on?’

Bold and brawny, no……… Bright and beautiful, yes!

Unlike the feature wines from last week whose chassis resemble Governor Arnold, we’ll take a look at several 2005 reds that are less powerful but are certain to impress. The key here is 2005. Even grapes from cool climates that typically show finesse and fine flavors are now sporting a bit of oomph!

Diochon Moulin A Vent 2005

We have a blind tasting group in Jacksonville that meets every Tuesday. This week’s theme was ‘the wines of 2005.’ Everyone brought their one or two bottles and the games began. Joel (WW) brown-bagged the Diochon 05 to the tasting. I think that I was the only one to guess basically what it was as even though there were only experienced wine industry people at the tasting. It just goes to show you that we are used to tasting candied and washed out versions of Gamay (Beaujolais). This is not the case with estate bottled wines from a top producer in a top vintage. With some confidence I was able to do the drill-down; old world, France, Burgundy, Beaujolais Cru. It could have easily been the Lapierre Morgon, but was unveiled as the Diochon. If only I was as lucky guessing most of the other wines. Anyway, low producing and old vine Gamay from a Beaujolais Cru is a bit of a standout style. If you have not tried the Diochon, the Chanrion Cote de Brouilly or any of our ‘Gang of Four’ Morgon producers from the 2005 vintage you are missing out on what is likely a once in a lifetime event. The 2005 vintage in Beaujolais is felt to be the best in over 60 years.

'The superb ripening and harvest gave perfect grapes, and Diochon made the most of it. Old vines, granite slopes, aged in foudre, bottled unfiltered, Diochon plus Moulin-à-Vent is quite a combo. The fruit is gorgeous, a real treat, and the wine shows remarkable finesse for its appellation.' Kermit Lynch’s notes.

Diochon Moulin A Vent VV 2005, Retail $19.99 Warehouse $16.99


Chanteleuserie Bourgeil from 2005.

Cabernet Franc from the Loire is often described as leafy when thrown into a blind tasting Some of you may recall my blog from 12-7-06 where I showed that the other marker for Loire Valley Cab Franc are beets. They’ll be neither one of these descriptors on the 2005 Chanelleuserie wines. Just ripe and spicy crushed berry fruit here. 2005 Chanteleuserie reds are simply pure, juicy and seamless on the palate. Wow! The Cuvee des Alouettes is produced from 15 year old vines grown in sandy soil. The Vieilles Vignes is produced from 65 year old vines in argilo-calcaire soils and certainly worth the extra buck.

Some of you may have been lucky enough to meet Thierry and Christine Boucard on our 2006 Tour of France tastings. Given the state of the dollar versus the Euro, I was amazed at what a value that these wines still offer to the consumer. You’ll be hard pressed to find another $12 or $13 wine to compete with these two for their quality to value ratio. I know that we inhabit a large planet. You’ll still have to do some serious looking. Just read what importer Kermit Lynch had to say about these wines.

‘The 2005s from Boucard really blew my mind. It was my first visit this summer tasting Loire reds, and we began with this very juicy cuvée. Old man Boucard was there, and I asked him if he could remember a similar vintage, because it was exciting to discover 2005. He mulled it over and said that 2003 came to mind, but that 2003 was an early-maturing vintage. “These 2005s,” he said, “are more like the great 1947s. They are true vins de garde. It is rare to have such balance and structure with such levels of ripeness.” Great deep color, almost black. Ripe, delicious blackberry fruit, yes, blackberry, from a Cabernet Franc! Round, harmonious, impressive all over, and—I guarantee it—so swallowable.’ Kermit Lynch

Chanteleuserie Bourgeil Cuvee VV 2005, Retail $ 15.99 Warehouse $12.99

Chanteleuserie Bourgeil ‘Les Alouettes’ 2005, Retail $14.99 Warehouse $11.99


Ninth Island Pinot Noir 2005, Tasmania.

Although Australia is not often associated with the Pinot Noir grape, the island of Tasmania has more similarities in its climate to New Zealand than it does Australia. Northern Tasmania is often shrouded by ocean mists which often blanket the vineyards in northern Tasmania.

The Ninth Island grapes are grown on a mixture of Vertosol soils (Black Cracking Clays), characteristic of their Tamar Valley vineyards, and Ferrosols (Volcanic soils), from their Pipers River vineyards. Both these soil types have an excellent water holding capacity, offering a steady supply of moisture and nourishment to the vines throughout the growing season.

The 2005 harvest commenced and lasted throughout the month of April from blocks located in the Tamar Valley and Pipers River region. Harvesting in April in the southern hemisphere is the equivalent of harvesting throughout October in the north. It shows that Tasmania is truly a cool climate region. The vines are predominantly grown on Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) trellises, which helps to expose the ripening bunches to the sun, which assists in achieving full ripeness and well-balanced flavors coupled with fine tannins.

Ninth Island’s aim with this wine is to bring all of the attributes of Pinot Noir to a peak at an early stage of the wine’s life. To achieve this, the grapes were immediately crushed and destemmed then fermented in a combination of Vinimatic and open vat ferments. The grape must is then inoculated and fermented at between 20-30˚C for a period of 5 to 8 days before being Pressed off into stainless steel vessels. The wine then completes full malolactic fermentation and is then bottled early under screw cap. This allows the wine to attain a style, which is intensely perfumed with soft velvety tannins and fresh vibrant fruit. As 2005 was a very even and ripe growing season, you will find this wine to have very juicy, crushed red fruit characters with a bright vibrancy on the palate. We opened one yesterday and were immediately impressed. This is the best Ninth Island that I have ever tasted.

You may have noticed that your favorite Pinot Noirs have been steadily creeping up in price. It is rare nowadays to find a Pinot Noir that is a good value. The Ninth Island Pinot Noir delivers.

Ninth Island Pinot Noir 2005, Retail $19.99 Warehouse $14.99

Taz can drive too!