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

                                                     

Chateau Pegau Maclura 2014

Growing up I was a bit of a weird kid, more interested in old movies, books and opera than video games, girl/boy bands or trying in any way to relate to my peers. When other girls my age were flocking to see Spice World, I was renting The Seventh Seal for the zillionth time (still an amazing film!). They went to see N*Sync in concert while I willingly accompanied my parents to see Madame Butterfly. It’s not that I was more cultured or better educated than them, I just had people in my life who influenced me to have different interests.

My paternal grandparents played the biggest part of all in that.* They lived close to us (eventually right across the street) and I probably saw them almost as often as I saw my parents. I loved spending time at their home and not because they had cable TV (a luxury my parents did not allow us, thanks to my oldest sister’s penchant for watching “inappropriate” channels, aka MTV for some reason). What I loved most about their house was their extensive collection of books. Some of them were a bit out of my league at the time and others might have been a bit inappropriate, but I just loved the way their backroom looked filled with worn hardcovers. That might be why I’ve always kept a ridiculous number of books that I refuse to get rid of, no matter how much of a pain they are to take on trips or move from apartment to apartment (sure, Kindles and the like, are nifty, but it’s just not the same as having an actual, physical book).

My favorite book out of that backroom was Edward FtizGerald’s English translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám, a collection of poems attributed to Omar Khayyám, a Persian poet, astronomer and mathematician from the Middle Ages. Before I could even read, this was the book I’d grab off the shelf because I loved the vivid, colorful illustrations in it. Once I became literate I also appreciated the words as well:

                                                                                      

A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread — and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness —
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!

I’ve never forgotten that particular poem, it was my favorite then and it’s still up there now. These days it also makes me want Rhone wine (a region that produces what I would consider the epitome of wild and untamed wines). In order to satisfy that craving recently, I took home Chateau Pegau’s Cotes du Rhone Maclura 2014. It’s a blend of 65% Grenache, 25^% Syrah and 10% Mouvedere with no oak aging and it was spectacular. Full-bodied and dry with notes of raspberry, cassis, black pepper and dried violets. There was a bit more emphasis on the fruit than I’d expected, but the full tannins and earthiness on the finish gave it more of that Old World feel.

Rhone will always be one of my favorite wine regions and it will always make me wish my grandparents were still alive to share a glass with me. They were good people and I owe them for shaping me into the person I am today, weirdness and all.

*Not that my parents were slacking in that regard, e.g. when I was in elementary school I had a terrible stomach virus and my dad used it as an excuse to make me watch a filmed performance of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen in its entirety… something I totally didn’t appreciate as much as I should have at the time (for obvious reasons).  

Martian Ranch Grenache Blanc 2012

I really enjoy living vicariously through my friends, especially when they vacation in California wine country, a trip I simply cannot afford to make right now. One of my friends, Kye, managed to make it out to Santa Barbara a couple of months ago and since he absolutely adores me (and I laid a major guilt trip on him), he brought me back some rather awesome souvenirs. I’m sure it’s no surprise that ‘Sideways’ is a film that’s very near and dear to both our hearts, so my favorite present was the napkin he snagged after eating at The Hitching Post:

Of course the wines Kye brought back were fantastic as well, especially the Martian Ranch Grenache Blanc:

Martian Ranch is located in Los Alamos California, owned and run by Nan Helgeland, who is dedicated to making Rhone varietal wines with little manipulation. She is also the wife of writer/producer Brian Helgeland (‘L.A. Confidential’ is right up there with ‘Sideways’ for both of us) and while that association may have been why Kye chose to stop at Martian, Nan and her wines are the reasons he fell head over heels for it. After tasting a few of the wines brought back from there I can totally understand why. If I’d gotten to try them while surrounded by the beautiful scenery in which they were created, I’d be enthralled too.

I’d been listening to Kye rave about Martian Ranch for at least a week so when their Grenache Blanc was one of the three wines he brought me back it wasn’t too hard to decide what to open first. I’ve never found this varietal to be overly complex, but this wine created elegance out of simplicity. Tropical fruits, citrus and almonds on the nose, with bright pineapple, lemon peel, passion fruit and lemongrass flavors coming through on the palate. Crisp acidity and subtle minerality led to a refreshing, yet short finish that made me wish I had more than one bottle of it.

Texas Roussanne

While wandering indecisively up and down the aisles at Spec’s on Monday, I wound up in front of the Texas wines and was reminded of an article my dad had recently sent, Battle of the Texas Roussannes, about a blind tasting of Texas Roussanes, pretty interesting read definitely worth checking out. I really hadn’t paid much attention to Texas wine in recent years (I’d had no idea that Roussanne was even being grown here) and decided that needed to change so I picked up a McPherson 2012 Roussanne and a Brennan Vineyards 2012 Lily Blend. I hadn’t had much experience with Roussanne before trying these wines, so I can’t honestly say if they were a true expression of the varietal or not, but I can say is that they were both very pretty in different ways.

McPherson Roussanne 2012: medium-bodied with notes of dried apricot, baked peach, candied lemon, honey and white flowers. Well-balanced complexity and medium acidity lead to a rich, short finish. I was actually really disappointed with this one when it was first opened, muted flavors and altogether kind of boring, but by the next day it had opened up beautifully and wound up being my favorite of the two.

Brennan Vineyards Lily 2012: a blend of 59% Roussanne, 23% Viognier and 18% Grenache. Medium-bodied with notes of apricot, roasted pineapple, canned peaches, butterscotch, ginger and caramel. Medium complexity and acidity that creeps up on you before being flattened by the creamy finish. It was very nice when first opened, but by the next day the butterscotch and caramel had started to overpower everything else. It was still drinkable, but not quite as enjoyable as before.

Just so I can end this on a completely random note: My dogs are more wine savvy than your dog.