The 11 vintages of Figeac.

Last month, I attended an 11-vintage vertical dinner of Château Figeac at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Washington DC. The dinner was hosted and organized by Panos Kakaviatos, and Figeac owner and winemaker Eric d’Aramon flew in for the event. The wines were donated by the Château.

There were about 25 attendees, including Terroirist Rebecca Canan, John Gilman of View from the Cellar, Washington Post wine columnist Dave McIntyre, master sommelier Kathy Morgan, and merchants from Schneider’s and MacArthur Beverages.

Overall, the wines were beautiful. Most were fresh and balanced, and all were marked by a distinctive note of gray minerality — sometimes coming across as slate, other times as pencil lead or riverbed. I can’t think of any other vertical tasting where the same characteristic was so obvious in each and every wine. Hooray for terroir!

Unlike most Right Bank Bordeaux, the wines of Figeac aren’t dominated by Merlot. The vineyard — characterized by extremely gravelly soil — is planted equally with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, and the wines generally mirror the vineyard.

And unlike many of the wines coming out of Bordeaux today, the wines of Figeac are restrained. Eric d’Aramon proudly noted that he never goes beyond 13.5% alcohol.

His rationale? “We want to preserve the freshness,” he explained. “Wine is made for drinking, and a wine that does not make me want to drink another has missed its point.” He went on to criticize today’s “boring” wines for resembling “massive blocks.” (Thanks to Dave McIntyre for capturing the quote.)

I agree with d’Aramon’s sentiment. But sadly, that sentiment catalyzed a 20+ minute conversation among attendees about a certain critic from Monkton, Maryland, who has never praised Figeac’s wines. Since 1966, Robert Parker has awarded scores of over 90 points to just two vintages of Figeac — the 1982 (94 points) and the 1990 (91 points).

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m bored by this conversation. Yes, Parker’s online personality is bombastic, and most everyone agrees that his palate is monochromatically attracted to “powerfully concentrated fruity wines.”

But we shouldn’t blame Parker for the shift towards riper wines. After all, if consumers didn’t agree with Parker, he would be irrelevant. Nor should we pretend, as so many attendees did, that old-school producers like Figeac are the only ones in the world that continue to produce elegant Bordeaux blends. I firmly believe that even America is capable of producing elegant wine!

Wine geeks are eager to criticize unsophisticated drinkers for falling prey to wine stereotypes (“Rosé is only for summertime drinking?!?! Pshaw!”). Yet we’re just as guilty of falling prey to a different kind of silliness. That’s unfortunate, as such conversations detract from talking about the important stuff.

It is, indeed, possible to talk about the charm (and deliciousness!) of Château Figeac’s wines without discussing Robert Parker.

And it would have been wonderful to spend more time talking about Panos’s recent adventures in Europe or hearing John Gilman’s take on the value of En Primeur. Plus, I’m sure many attendees would have liked to tell Dave McIntyre that drinking Château Figeac doesn’t count as “drinking local.” (Thanks to Terroirist reader Scott Claffee for that joke!) Alas, the 20 minutes we spent discussing the critic from Monkton prevented us from broaching such subjects.

Fortunately, most of dinner was spent hearing about Château Figeac and discussing the wines. And I left as a huge fan of the Château, grateful for the invitation to such an extravagant evening. Enormous thanks to Panos Kakaviatos for organizing such a spectacular event!

My full notes are pasted below. In case you’re you’re interested, well-known taster Kevin Shin has put up his notes on CellarTracker, Dave McIntyre has blogged about the event, and Panos has written about it. Read the rest of this entry »

Courtesy of Jean-Marc Rosier from http://www.rosier.pro.

“When done right, the sheer fruit-drenched power of grenache can be immensely winning, particularly when the juicy, exuberant fruit is tempered by mineral or herbal flavors that create a sense of complexity.” In the New York Times, Eric Asimov embraces the power of (some) Gigondas. He writes more on his blog.

Wondering how to sell 150,000 cases of wine in your first five months of production – with few reviews and little placement outside grocery stores? Partner with the Food Network. (H/T: The Wine Curmudgeon.)

“I fall in love with the wine when I was 16.” In the New York Times, an audio-visual special profiling Arianna Occhipinti, a rising winemaker in Sicily. (H/T: Eric Asimov.)

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Jon Bonné reviews some “truly special” rosé Champagnes.

The older John Mariani gets, the more convinced he becomes “that keeping wines for decades is a very risky business.” Don’t tell Keith Levenberg.

Mike Veseth, aka the Wine Economist, offers some tips for Washington wine growers.

Dr. Vino explores the history of the 100-point scale.

Jordan Winery is celebrating its 40^th anniversary, and you’re invited.

In Maryland, some restaurants are pushing lawmakers to legalize the sale of “wine-to-go,” in refillable bottles similar to beer growlers.

Drew Barrymore is in the wine business. Her first offering? An Italian Pinot Grigio.

Kevin Sidders, founder and president of VinConnect, likes to say that he is his target customer.

A wine enthusiast who was inspired by tech entrepreneurs he met while working in Silicon Valley, Mr. Sidders was anxious to merge these two interests but unsure of how to proceed. So he enrolled in UC-Davis’s OIV Wine Marketing program, where he learned all about the business of wine, covering just about everything outside of growing grapes and making what’s in the bottle.

Upon completing his coursework and moving to the East Coast, Kevin embarked on a trip to Barolo in late 2010 and had a revelation. As a mailing list member of many wineries in the United States, Kevin wondered why a similar business model hadn’t taken hold in Europe. Fast forward a year, and after clearing countless bureaucratic hurdles, Kevin founded VinConnect. Its mission is to “enable the world’s best estates to sell their wine direct to private clients in the United States.”

The two of us recently chatted by phone. And even though Kevin recounted many obstacles in the way of making this idea a reality, VinConnect at its core is not unlike many domestic mailing lists.

After providing an email address to VinConnect, you simply opt to receive offers from whichever VinConnect partner wineries you’re interested in. Once you’ve made your choices (you can opt in to as many or as few wineries as you’d like), you just sit back and wait for the offers to arrive. VinConnect focuses on limited-production high-quality wines, both from established estates such as Clos de Tart and Massolino as well as emerging producers like La Macchiole in Tuscany and Gourt de Mautens in the Rhone Valley.

During our conversation, Kevin stressed that he didn’t invent a new way of selling wine — he just took an existing concept and adapted it to serve another market. In doing so, he’s opened the European market to consumers who value direct-purchase relationships, whether it is for reasons of provenance or just to ensure they have future purchasing opportunities. By serving as an extension of a winery’s brand, VinConnect is a conduit for wineries to communicate with and sell to their U.S. customers in a streamlined manner. As Kevin said, “”The thing that makes me most excited about VinConnect is the great feedback we get from wineries and their customers every day — they both love what we’re doing for them.”

For more information on VinConnect, read how it works and check out their partner wineries.

According to W. Blake Gray, it’s unfortunate that so many consumers “see wine as a romantic product.” As he explains in Palate Press, “In almost every instance, the idea of “romance” leads wine to be less than it should be.”

Wine Spectator, meanwhile, publishes a short history of wine’s connection to sex and romance.

Tom Wark highlights three “great” sources of online wine content he’s recently discovered, including a personal favorite, Keith Levenberg’s CellarBook.

Steve Heimoff remembers Steve Pitcher.

The New York Cork Report announces its 2011 Wines of the Year. While the NYCR team really enjoyed the sparkler from Lenz Winery on Long Island, Howard Goldberg thinks the reds are worth serious attention.

Fans of Texas Wine (and the Drink Local Wine movement) should already have Russ Kane on their radar. Tomorrow, his book on Texas wine — The Wine Slinger Chronicles — is officially released. Personalized copies are available on Russ’s website.

At a recent tasting of Bordeaux’s 2008 vintage, Jancis Robinson was “left with the impression that with the reds, the disparity between the top wines and the rest is particularly marked.”

“Sicily’s white grapes are finally getting the recognition they deserve. It only took two centuries.” So concludes Talia Baiocchi in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Ed Thralls shares his notes from a recent tasting event for a collective of micro wineries.

This week, several Terroirists reached for old world offerings and uncovered some gems, while David reached for some older American wines. Check out our impressions below!

David White
On Saturday night, I opened up two California gems with a handful of friends in New York City — a  2001 Williams Selyem Flax Vineyard Pinot Noir and a 1993 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Williams Selyem was beautiful, but a good deal riper than I would have expected — it certainly couldn’t have passed for a Burgundy. Sweet baked cherries & cherry jam, boysenberries, cola, some floral notes, and vanilla. The wine needed more acidity — the finish just wasn’t bright enough — but overall, it was a great example of an aged California Pinot.

The Diamond Creek was stunning. Plenty of fruit still present, with sweet herbs, cedar, and spices underneath. Soft tannins, refreshing acidity, great structure and balance. This wine is in a great spot right now, so if you have any, drink up!

Matt Latuchie
You should know something about me. I hate boring, nondescript wine. Thankfully, this doesn’t make me unique and I get the sense that more and more wine consumers are as sick and tired as I am with cookie-cutter, passionless, mundane plonk. It is with this in mind (in addition to the prodding of wine whiz Jess Chatfield at Crush) that I decided to investigate a region I know nothing about – the Savoie. It’s tucked into the rugged alpine terrain of Eastern France, not far from the Swiss border. It’s probably most commonly known for their white wines as only a small number of red varietals are able to ripen in such an environment – despite this, I chose to taste two reds both produced from the Mondeuse grape.

My first bottle was Charles Trosset’s Cuvee Confidental from 2007. This flat out shocked me. It was my first time having Mondeuse and I liken it to the aromatics of a syrah with the weight of a pinot noir. The nose was utterly exotic – my girlfriend described it as “grilled sausage and green peppers”. The meatiness of this wine would have made the most rustic Cornas, Cote Rotie’s, or St. Joseph’s blush. Its palate was airy, but the flavor was cranked up – a potent combination for me. Its meat and floral tones were textured, rustic and deep. I paid $18.99 for this and felt like it easily competes with $50-$75 Northern Rhone wines. A steal.

Later in the week I tried another Mondeuse this time from Jean Vullien. If the volume on the Trosset was turned up to an 11, this was more of an 7. The flavors were slightly less expressive and while I still thought it to be an outstanding wine, didn’t have the “wow” factor that the Trosset had. Nonetheless, it was a great week of wine discovery for me and I urge all of you to try something similar.

Rebecca Canan
I attended the first class for Columbia Business School’s Wine Society. My two favorites were the 2006 Michel Magnien Clos St. Denis, which was absolutely beautiful. A rich floral nose with a background of forest. Perfumed red cherry, but not overly sweet. Aged in 100% new French oak. My #2 wine was the 2006 Jean-Michel Guillon Mazis-Chambertin. The nose on this had “red Burgundy” aromas mixed with some tire. Woodsy, yet pretty. A little more drying than my #1. I think this one could age a little longer and evolve into something spectacular. Both were delicious.

I also opened a 2009 Vietti Barbera d’Asti Tre Vigne, which was perfect for a night in with Italian delivery. Bright, tart red cherries, dust, and great acidity to balance the rigatoni with veal meat sauce I’d ordered.

Wine writer Steve Pitcher.

Steve Pitcher, the well-known wine writer, passed away on Wednesday after a four-year battle with throat cancer. In the San Francisco Chronicle, Jon Bonné bids farewell.

In the Wall Street Journal Europe, Will Lyons profiles Gérard Basset, who holds the Master of Wine and Master Sommelier qualification, along with a Wine M.B.A. from the Bordeaux École de Management.

Asia’s appetite for Bordeaux may have cooled, but demand for Burgundy shows no signs of letting up. At a Christie’s International auction in Hong Kong last week, wines from the private cellar of winemaker Henri Jayer fetched quite a bit of money.

“What’s your bucket list wine?” Mike Steinberger poses the question.

“Aging wine is, above all else, an act of faith.” In the Wall Street Journal, Lettie Teague explores Americans’ wine aging habits.

John Forrest, owner of New Zealand’s Forrest Wines, believes that “Marlborough growers need an appellation system with strict controls on production levels to avoid losing quality and reputation.”

On Valentine’s Day, make sure to avoid wines with names like “Portly Gentleman, Old Fart, French Maid, Mommy’s Time Out, Little Black Dress, Seduction, Promiscuity or Sex — unless, of course, you intend to send an unconventional Valentine’s Day message.”

Kyle Schlachter of Colorado Wine Press recently wrote about the the “five most important social media personalities… to whom Colorado wineries should be listening.” On Friday, he detailed five more people worth following.

In New York, calls to legalize supermarket wine sales are getting louder.

Each week, as regular readers know, Terroirist poses questions to a winemaker. This week, we’re featuring Dave Guffy, director of winemaking for The Hess Collection.

Dave Guffy first became interested in wine while studying Food Science at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. While there, he worked in many restaurants – so had the opportunity to taste a variety of wines. He decided to learn more, so it landed a brief harvest internship at a small winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. That’s when it all clicked.

When harvest ended, he decided to transfer to Fresno State – where he would soon graduate with a degree in Enology and Viticulture. In 1990, Dave was named assistant winemaker at Cambria Winery, and he would become the head winemaker in 1992. Seven years later, Donald Hess hired Guffy to guide the entire Hess portfolio.  Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Kassel writes a hilarious takedown of Matt Kramer’s latest Wine Spectator column.

Jon Bonné follows up on his recent column on winegrower Tegan Passalacqua – with a great blog post on Passalacqua’s winemaking philosophy. One influence for Passalacqua? South Africa’s Swartland Independent, which “aims to raise awareness of that emerging region of South Africa by making wines with minimal additions and manipulations.”

“We don’t drink enough sweet wines.” So concludes Dave McIntyre, in his latest Washington Post column.

“It’s still only February, but a little Torrontes goes a long way towards making it seem like spring.” On the Wall Street Journal’s wine blog, Lettie Teague reports on the efforts of Nick Ramkowksy, owner of the California-based Vine Connections, to popularize Torrentest in the United States.

Brooklyn Guy attends an epic dinner where he enjoys the legendary Côte-Rôties of Marius Gentaz. (H/T: Eric Asimov.)

Wines & Vines digs into the recent report on the growth of Virginia’s wine industry.

On Eater, Talia Baiocchi writes about the Historic Vineyard Society — together with a slideshow of some of the state’s gnarliest vines.

W. Blake Gray reports on the news that the EU has ruled that “organic wine” can contain sulfites.

Terroir is back! On February 27, “Return to Terroir” will return to New York City.

In the latest issue of SPICE, a luxury magazine published by the India Today Group, I have an article on Failla’s 2005 Estate Syrah — the wine that launched my obsession with fermented grape juice.

SPICE reaches about 2 million people in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkat — so perhaps folks in India will start paying more attention to California cool-climate Syrah!

Check out my article on the SPICE website, or below.

That “A-ha” Moment

Baseball cards. Stamps. Barbie dolls. Coins. You name it, and you’ll find a dedicated group of obsessives. Those who love wine are no different – they’ll brag about their collections, trade old and rare bottles with each other, and forever pursue perfection. They’ll travel the world and spend untold sums in pursuit of that ideal wine experience.

Until four years ago, I assumed that wine fanatics were crazy. Sure, I enjoyed wine. But it was simply a drink — an alcoholic beverage that I enjoyed having with dinner from time to time.

And then I put my nose in a glass of Syrah from Failla, a winery in California’s Napa Valley that sources its grapes from the state’s west Sonoma Coast. Specifically, it was the 2005 Failla Estate Syrah. And at that moment, I became obsessed.

It was the fall of 2007, and I was out in Napa Valley with a few friends. We had already visited a number of the area’s top wineries – Heitz Cellars, Frank Family Vineyards, and Opus One, to name just a few – but when I sampled the Failla Syrah, something clicked.

How could such a simple beverage – fermented grape juice – have such a seductive bouquet? And how could it taste so good?

I knew nothing of tasting notes at the time, but when I learned that well-known wine critic Stephen Tanzer of International Wine Cellar described the wine as “Explosive and wild” and complimented its “aromas of raspberry, game, truffle, smoke and leather, with notes of pepper and beefsteak tomato,” it all made sense. Read the rest of this entry »

“In music, it could be the difference between sipping something hokey but contrived like the Black Eyed Peas and then experiencing the raw truth of Ali Akbar Khan or Yehudi Menuhin. The holy sh*#, moment when the wine shifts as solely a drink of pleasure into a something that is capable of touching your soul.” Hardy Wallace reflects on his wine journey over the past three years.

“Don’t fuck with the Internet.” That’s Mike Steinberger’s take on the news (as reported on WineBerserkers by Don Cornwell, a Los Angeles attorney) that “the infamous Rudy Kurniawan” – who has peddled counterfeit bottles of wine in the past – may be back on the auction scene.

Meet Playboy.com’s new wine columnist dude, Joe Roberts!

On the Washington Post’s food blog, Dave McIntyre writes about the “11-vintage retrospective of Chateau Figeac” recently organized by Panos Kakaviatos. (In case anyone is wondering, I did attend the dinner — and my notes are coming soon!

On Reuters, Felix Salmon analyzes a new paper from the American Association of Wine Economists tries to get to the bottom of exactly why alcohol levels are increasing.

Edible Manhattan profiles Jenny Lefcourt, one of the leading importers of natural wines in the United States. (H/T: Eric Asimov.)

“[He] was arguably the most revered winemaker of the twentieth century, the man who helped to redefine Burgundy and inspire several generations of acolytes.” On the Wall Street Journal’s wine blog, Jay McInerney pays homage to Henri Jayer. Jayer’s wine cellar is being auctioned off in Hong Kong this Friday.

Is the sudden popularity of Moscato a passing fad – or is it here to stay? In Wine Spectator, Ben O’Donnell investigates. Elsewhere, Richard Jennings writes about the surge in Moscato sales — tastes a selection from BevMo.

Attention New York readers: If you’re looking for some Kosher wines, check out the 2012 Kosher Food & Wine Experience at Chelsea Piers on Monday. Jonny Cigar has the scoop.