30th Birthday Wines

I turned 30 a couple of weeks ago and was rather disappointed that I didn’t immediately turn into a withered, old hag (the way some people react to the “big three-oh”, I’d naturally assumed that was what would happen). I’d really been looking forward to being able to wave a cane and croak at kids to get the hell off my lawn, though I suppose I could still do that, but it wouldn’t be the same seeing as how I still look like I’m under 21 (no, it’s not a blessing, it’s just annoying), plus I don’t really have a lawn.

Despite that letdown, it was a great birthday since I got to spend it drinking some rather incredible wines (and oh yeah, there were a couple of awesome people there too who also made it great, but the wines definitely stole the show).

The night before my birthday, Kye opened a 2015 Yves Cuilleron “La Petite Côte” Condrieu and a 2012 Bernard Levet “Les Journaries” Côte-Rôtie, both of which he had me blind.* I wound up calling the Condrieu a Spanish Albarino (in my defense it was still very cold when he poured it, after it warmed up a bit it was obviously viognier, but we both still gave me crap about it). I did better with the red though, the second I got that whiff of funky barnyard and smoky meat I knew it could only be Rhone. I went a bit too South with my call (Gigondas), but wasn't totally unhappy with my call.** So we got to toast my birthday at midnight with wines from what might be my favorite region (Rhone, obviously) and all was right in the world.

Then the day after my birthday I got a package from Rare Wine Co. that contained some surprises: a 1987 Lopez de Heredia Reserva Tondonia and a 1987 D’Oliveiras Bual Madeira. My parents felt bad that they were missing my birthday to go on a trip to Canada so they’d conspired with Kye to get me a bottle of something that I wouldn’t ever think to get for myself and they nailed it. Kye, being the amazing dude that he is, threw in the Madeira as an extra.

Lopez de Heredia has been one of my favorite producers ever since Kye introduced me to their incredible wines a few years ago. They’re one of the few Rioja producers who still use the traditional American oak barrels instead of French, which I tend to prefer in that region’s wines. Also, they age their wines for longer than is required for the region (the most current vintage for their youngest wine is 2008). Despite the lack of an ah-so, Kye didn’t have any issues with opening the bottle and we even decanted it the “proper” sommelier way, with a lit candle behind the bottle in order to see the sediment and an actual glass decanter. It was delicious, still retained the red fruit notes, had that hint of coconut that you get from American oak and had nicely balanced acidity and tannins. It was probably one of the best wines I’ve ever gotten to drink.

The D’Oliveiras Bual Madeira was strictly from Kye since we both love Madeira, but can’t always find that great of a selection in retail store here since most people just buy it for cooking. It was super nutty, almost reminded me a bit of sherry and had a sweetness that perfectly complimented that. I didn’t wind up finishing the bottle until almost a week later and though it had become a bit more acidic by then it was still amazing.

So that was my 30^th birthday and there’s nothing about it I can complain about. The people I spent it with and the wines we opened made it perfect.

*Meaning a blind tasting, where you must determine varietal, region and vintage a wine might be based solely on what you get from sight, smell and taste. And no, it’s not magic or bullshit, if you have the knowledge and practice enough it’s totally possible (though definitely not easy)

**Kye was also a bit offended that I’d think he’d get me an Albarino and Gigondas for my birthday, but he quickly got over that

                                                     

Michel & Marc Rossignol Volnay 1er Cru Les Pitures 1990

I turn 30 in a month, which is apparently supposed to be some sort of terrible milestone for women (at least that's how it seems to be whenever I’ve heard others talk about their 30^th birthday). I’m sure some people will find the fact that I’m unmarried and childless after three decades on this earth to be something I should be pitied for, but I honestly don’t care what those people think. I’m more worried about what my younger self would think about the path that I (we) have taken.

When I was in elementary school, second grade I think, a teacher had us write a letter to our future selves and seal it inside a hollow walnut that was supposed to be opened when we were 30. Since I’ve never been a patient person, I opened that sucker up when I found it several years ago tucked away with other random grade school stuff my mother refuses to throw away . The only part of the letter I remember now was the hope that I’d have purple hair, and since I’d been in the habit of dying my hair burgundy by then, that was the only prediction that had come true (yes, burgundy counts as purple as far as Adult me is concerned). It was honestly kind of depressing to read because at that time I was in my early 20s, had moved back in with my parents and worked at an incredibly soul-crushing job. I couldn’t help but think that my eight-year-old self would be ridiculously disappointed in us. I suspect I would feel the same sort of guilt if I’d waited to open it until now though. There’s no way the little girl who wrote that note could’ve predicted the sort of unfortunate choices she’d make in life or that the world would be the way it is now and how much all of that would affect her hopes and dreams for the future.*

I did get better with age (thank god) and so did the bottle of 1990 Michel & Marc Rossignol Volnay 1er Cru Les Pitures we opened recently:

This wine is 100% Pinot Noir from Volnay which is located in the Côte de Beaune (a sub-region of Burgundy). Domaine Rossignol has been in the same family since the 16th century and are known to produce wines that age very well. We’d been hanging on to that bottle for over a year now, waiting for the right time before deciding it was now or never. It was light-bodied, delicately perfumed and a bit jammy with notes of red fruit, pepper and violets. Unfortunately, it seems we had hung on to it for a bit too long since after the first glass it proceeded to break down slightly. Still, it was a delicious wine and I doubt my younger self would have been disappointed to know she’d be drinking such “fancy” wine at 29. It really is the little things in life sometimes…

*Though even at 8 years old I was already on the path to becoming the very cynical, sarcastic person I am now, so its not like my hopes and dreams were all that grandiose. At least I'm pretty sure I'd given up on my Doctor Ballerina aspirations by that point...

Kurt Darting Dürkheimer Spielberg Scheurebe Spätlese 2010

My parents are amazing and I know that I am damn lucky to have them. My father is awesome, I got both my dry sense of humor and cynicism (though he’s not too thrilled about that) from him and I am beyond grateful for both those traits. My mother is the kindest, most wonderful woman, who always wants to see the best in everyone. They balance each other out so perfectly and also drive each other crazy at times. I have never doubted that they love each other and my sisters and I (and all the dogs I might have kinda guilted them into getting) very much. If it weren't for them I might have never discovered how utterly fascinating and beautiful wine is.

For my 21^st birthday they had gotten me a bottle of Now and Zen Wasabi White (mainly because my mother loved the label... another habit I picked up from her), but forgot to bring it with them when they drove up to Dallas to see me, so my mother insisted on visiting several different liquor/wine stores in an attempt to find another bottle of it. We didn't find it and I honestly couldn't tell you what they wound up getting me instead to make up for it, but I remember being really amazed by how much they knew about wine, since it was something they'd only started getting into after I left home. What really sealed the deal though was a weekend visit I made probably a few months after that. They’d recently gotten really into New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and one of the last nights I was there we thought it'd be fun to do a blind-tasting of sorts with three different bottles of that varietal. Basically we put all three in paper bags then tasted each one and scored them somehow (the details are a bit fuzzy), not perfect, but still a lot of fun. The wines were Kim Crawford, Drylands (which I'm pretty sure was the winner overall) and a third I can’t recall. The details aren't really all that important... the point is that after that weekend I started to fall madly in love with wine all thanks to my parents.

Since then I've become way more of a wine geek than either of them and I’m sure that my slightly ridiculous passion for wine perplexes them at times, but they have been nothing but supportive anyways. Of course it pays off for them as well since I've introduced them to some rather awesome wines. Of those one of their favorites so far was Kurt Darting Dürkheimer Spielberg Scheurebe Spätlese from Pfalz, Germany.

I have Kye (my friend and fellow wine buyer at Whole Foods), to thank for introducing me to this wine (and for the picture above) and he has Terry Theise to thank for introducing him to Scheurebe. I’m really glad that he stumbled upon this beautiful wine after reading Theise’s book “Reading Between the Vines” and I’m really lucky that he was awesome enough to share that experience with me. Just to give a brief background on this little known varietal: Scheurebe (or Sämling 88) is a crossing of Riesling and an unknown grape (originally thought to be Sylvaner, but DNA analysis ruled that out in the ‘90s). Primarily grown in Austria and Germany it is highly aromatic and, like Riesling, the wines made from it can range from very sweet to bone dry.

The Darting Scheurebe was beyond gorgeous, I still list in as one of the top ten white wines I've ever had. After that first bottle I kept gushing about it to my parents and wound up buying another bottle of it to drink with them so they could experience it as well ($19.99 at Twin Liquors, though I don't believe they carry it anymore). Normally I’d do my best to describe Scheurebe, and I could go into detail about the pink grapefruit, orange zest and honeysuckle flavors but I just feel like Terry Theise does such a better job of explaining this varietal than I could ever do, so I’ll just leave you with his words:

“I don’t drink Riesling all the time, though I’d hardly mind doing so. Still, there are occasions when something more pagan is called for, and that’s when I summon my guiltiest of wine pleasures: Scheurebe.

"Scheurebe (shoy-ray-beh), often shortened to ‘Scheu,’ is Riesling just after it read the Kama Sutra. Put another way, Scheu is what Riesling would be if Riesling were a transvestite. If Riesling expresses all that is Noble and Good, Scheu offers all that is Dirty and Fun. It is Riesling’s evil, horny twin.”

-Terry Theise, "Reading Between the Vines"