The winemaking business is very tough
Just finished reading two fine articles in Winesearcher. One headline says, American wine drinkers cut back on butter. Written by H. Blake Gray, the article goes on to explain that recent anecdotal input from sommeliers indicates American drinkers are beginning to eschew the big, buttery chardonnays in favor of the leaner styles similar to some French White Burgundy and especially Chablis.
The proliferation of trained sommeliers has helped to enlighten consumers regarding the affinity properly chosen wine has for food. One of the issues not discussed is that various styles of varietal wine and blends are made for different purposes. Generally speaking, the big, buttery, oaky style is made for drinking and the leaner, acidic styles to accompany food.
Think of squeezing lemon on your fish. Another positive aspect of sommeliers or knowledgeable waitrons is that folks are exposed to varietal wines they have avoided due to lack of familiarity.
Many vintages are driven by weather. However, the winemaker, through manipulating picking time, blending and barrel exposure, can manage the desired result. Think NV Champagne. I have written of these issues on many occasions. Another issue is the practice of dumbing down the profiles toward the middle in order to have a broader appeal. The ”mo' money” syndrome.
I understand the winemaking business is very tough, cash- and labor-intensive, and marketing issues are a bear. Small-lot wines must command huge prices because they don’t have enough volume to justify expenses when priced in the lower middle range where most of the buyers reside. Wine critic scores are also large drivers of market. I probably get 5-10 emails a week with the request, “What goes well with a certain menu and costs less than X?” The high-rated Cali Cabs or Chardonnays rarely make the cut because so few are great food wines, or are priced favorably. These are complex, subtle and frequently made for stand-alone consumption.
New California is becoming the bon mot du jour. The late-to-the-party crowd is naming it the New California with articles proliferating like fleas on a feral dog. Many of these guys are far behind the what’s-happening-now group, of which I am proud to be a part. A well-written article by Mike Steinberger back in 2014 was headlined The New California is an old story. Mike excoriated those who broke with terroir-driven wine production and tried to convert to the profile RP and James Laube at WS, among others, were pushing - the long hang time, high-alcohol, fruit-bomb, oak crowd. He congratulates several of those who stuck to their guns.
Bob Mc Clenahan, Kirk Irwin, Cathy Corizon, Jim Clendenen, Doug Nalle, Mike Chelini and Steve Edmunds (an original Rhone Ranger) and wineries like Mayacamus, Au Bon Climat and Edmunds St. John, stayed true and weathered the crappy ratings and panning comments several “in crowd" writers promoted. You can find the article here: www.wine-searcher.com/m/2014/04/the-new-california-is-an-old-story.
In case you don’t understand this, try to keep in mind that long hang time generally provides more sugar, more juice and fruity ripeness. Just think of biting into a big ripe peach at the end of the season. Unfortunately, in many case there isn’t enough acidity to support the structure. One reason conglomerates were so easy to convince was that yields went way up. “Mo' money.”
OK, here are three for you that refute the statements above. Chardonnay that goes well with lobster and drawn butter: Ramey Cellars Russian River 2012, 90 points @ $32; or Hanzell Sonoma Valley 2012, 93 points @ $60.
Boiled lobster screams out for medium-bodied white wine with delicate fruit and oak plus the acidity levels these exhibit. Cabernet Sauvignon some of the best comes from Carneros and Mouton. These are the words in Spanish and French for sheep. Next time you wrestle with a rack of lamb or a lamb shank try a little Cab or a Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux with it. Yummy. I recommend the 2010 Chateau Phelan Segur St. Estephe 2010, 91 points @ $60; may be their best ever. Lovely purple claret color, with juicy aromas of blackberry, licorice, coffee, earth and barrel spices. Proper acid/fruit/tannin balance allows for a long, round, smooth finish.
Email John McDonald at chjonmc@yahoo.com.
