Storms in France may drive up wine prices

It appears the weathermen and women, and the talking heads, frightened many into missing out on a perfect fall Sunday. As I am settin’ here, fixin’ to review wine, the Yahoos at Yahoo weather report: cloudy, 60 percent chance of rain and windy for Sunday and 65 percent Monday. Oddly when you open their weather map there is nary a cloud in sight from the Gulf up the double S double P to Canada. The bright sunlight is dappling my porch through the oak leaves. They also claim the UV is 4, moderate. If you aren’t well tanned, wear sunscreen. I make it about 8. The Eagles wrote a song about this. I guess it is difficult for big media liars to tell the truth about anything, even the weather. I like Magicseaweed and Swellwatch for my surf report. And that calls for several glasses of wine.

Regular Readers will remember my touting wine from Languedoc-Roussillon such as Michelle Bertrand Cotes des Roses Rosé 2015, which won silver at Concors Mondiale in Brussels and is available at $14/bottle. Rated 90 points and great QPR wine for porch sipping. Sadly, a late-summer hailstorm has wiped out about 1,000 hectares, (2.47 acres) of the vineyards around Pic St. Loup and the environs of Montpelier this August just a week or so before harvest. Winemaking France may be in trouble again. In addition, the areas of Burgundy, Loire and the SW of France were storm-ridden this spring. These events will probably drive up prices of any decent previous vintages still lying around. BTW, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that stopping in backwater wine shops is a hobby of mine when time permits. I am amazed at how often I find some older vintage gem whose price hasn’t been updated. Don’t buy if it isn’t properly stored, unless you are Kenny Rogers.

I sampled three 2014s from Montes Alpha, a Chilean producer. The region is located SW of Santiago, in one of the many valleys that are contiguous to the Tinguiririca River and the Pacific. Those who read maps will note that the region is much closer to the equator than most prolific wine-growing regions. This location allows the very cold breeze off the Pacific to cool the valleys enough for grape production. More or less, compare it to Sonoma and Napa, in the sense that the best whites come from the cooler western coastal and river areas and the reds from the more eastern and mountainous, near the Andes. Montes Alpha is best known for its 94-point Folly Syrah, both 2011 and ‘12 and 92-point Bordeaux 2012 blend which came in at $54, 93-95 points April 2015 and is selling around $85-$90. OK, so the Montes Alpha Colchagua Carmenere 2013 under $19 isn’t their Purple Angel, 92 points and $65, but it is a much better buy. I say 90 points. McD consistently rated these good QPR and over 88 points since 2009. The Chardonnay 2014 was not up to their 2013 bottling. An OK chardonnay with average QPR, 86 McD.

Following is a quote from Mike Dunne, a well-regarded Pinot Noir judge and Sacramento Bee columnist. “Reluctantly I’m about ready to join the chorus that claims you can’t buy a decent bottle of pinot noir for less than $15.” The article goes on and you can find it here: www.sacbee.com/food-drink/wine/dunne-on-wine/article2598073.html. I was sort of in the Dunne camp until I sampled Montes Limited Selection PN 2014. It is difficult to critique. For a Pinot Noir that goes for less than $14 a bottle, it is terrific. Of course there are few noteworthy PNs priced under $14 to compare. My notes: ruby colored but not too dark. Raspberry, cherries and barrel spice aromas were pronounced and opened in the mouth to blackberries with floral and black pepper notes. This is well balanced, pleasingly dry, with appropriate tannic grip and a clean 1-minute finish with varietal fruit notes. A lot of wine for its price at $150/case, 3 price points, 90 points McD. This was very favorably reviewed in columns promoting value and may be hard to locate. Trust me, it is worth the search. Final note, be very careful with the labeling when buying Montes or Montes Alpha.