What I Tasted on My Spring Break - SPEC's Liquors

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www.specsonline.com Over an excellent late lunch of osso bucco and spinach with two ladies at Simposio recently, I tasted seven very interesting wines. Three were from MacMurray Ranch (one of the Northern California's newest wineries) and three were from Louis Martini (one of California's oldest wineries). In terms of both the food and company, it was a lovely lunch—but then I expected as much. <strong>What</strong> really impressed me though was just how good the wines were... MACMURRAY RANCH is the family estate of late actor Fred MacMurray. His daughter Kate lives on the estate in the "John Wayne" cabin (as it was where Mr. Wayne always stayed when he visited, which was frequently). The MacMurrays never grew grapes or made wine, but the new owners kept the name and even hired Kate MacMurray to help manage and market the wines. The MacMurray Ranch is on Westside Road in the Russian River Valley and so grows (not surprisingly) Pinot Noir, but also grows (maybe a bit surprisingly) Pinot Gris. The cool climate and fog of the Russian River Valley are actually ideal for both grapes. We tasted the Pinot Gris and both the Russian River and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs... MacMURRAY RANCH Pinot Gris Russian River Valley, 2002 $17.64 btl $193.20 case 12x750ml This is a lively, well-focused, refreshing pear-white peach-andlime-oriented Pinot Gris with the minerally terroir notes and crisp acidity it needs to be balanced. It has an elegant structure with good weight and richness and a fine feel but it is not at all heavy. Excellent. Bear's Score: 91 points. MacMURRAY RANCH Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast, 2002 $12.92 btl $143.88 case 12x750ml From grapes grown in the cool, higher elevation vineyards of the Sonoma Coast appellation, this wine spent five months in a mix of mostly seasoned French oak. The result is a light-to-medium-bodied red offering dark red cherry fruit and notes of chocolate and earth with a hint of new leather. Quite flavorful with a juicy texture and mediumweight feel, it gains in richness as it unfolds in the glass. Fine+. Bear's Score: 90 points. MacMURRAY RANCH Pinot Noir Russian River Valley, 2001 $23.81 btl $260.82 case 12x750ml After 12 months in a mix of new and seasoned French oak barrels, this Russian River Pinot offers good richness and density with a lovely juicy texture and ample dark cherry fruit. Complexity comes in the notes of black pepper and spice, earth, cocoa, and cola. The long finish retains fruit and perfume before it resolves clean. Excellent. Bear's Score: 91+ points. THE LOUIS MARTINI WINERY is one of the old icons of the Napa Valley and the whole California wine industry. There were great Cabernets from the 1940s (the winery was founded in 1933) through the 1990s and now into this century. The wines were sometimes out of fashion - Martini always went for balance rather than power - but quality was never lacking. Even the very basic Louis Martini "California" Cabernets were always much better than the price would indicate and often were the first commercially available indicator of the quality of a vintage that was just moving into release. Here are notes on the three Cabernets we tasted with lunch. LOUIS MARTINI Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County, 2001 $11.99 btl $134.29 case 12x750ml The winery's tech sheet says 88% Cabernet Sauvignon with 9% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc - which is 2% shy of 100. None-theless, this is a medium weight, fruit forward, spicy Cabernet Sauvignon featuring plenty of red cherry and red berry fruit with notes of tobacco and cedar and a sweet spiciness. The wine is well balanced and elegant - everything I expect from a Martini Cabernet. Really Fine. Bear's Score: 90+ points. So what do MacMurray Ranch and Louis Martini Winery have in common The "G" word. As in both are owned by Gallo. Gallo created MacMurray Ranch and purchased (and is in the process of revitalizing) Louis Martini. Even though both properties are Gallo owned, they each have their own personalities and are in fact separate wineries in terms of winemaking and grape sources. And speaking of Gallo, we also tasted another interesting white wine at lunch... LOUIS MARTINI Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa LOUIS MARTINI Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Valley, 2000 $17.23 btl $191.84 case 12x750ml Alexander Valley, 2000 The winery's tech sheet says this is 78% Cabernet $20.65 btl $229.95 case 12x750ml Sauvignon with 19% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, and A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% 1% Petite Verdot - which is 1% shy of 100%. The Merlot made from uncrushed, destemmed grapes result is a classic, classy, balanced Napa Cab offering ("whole berry fermentation") and aged 26 dusty-ripe blackberry fruit with good richness and months in a mixture of mostly seasoned French, notes of tea, tobacco, and cedar, along with hints of European, and American oak barrels. The result is earthy minerals and black pepper. It has a juicy a balanced, elegant, but still masculine Cab that richness in the mouth with an excellent feel but tastes most strongly of Cabernet fruit with strong finishes dusty dry. It is elegant (not at all heavy) and blackberry and cassis notes and nuance of complete and very well integrated. Delicious. tobacco, dried herbs, and blackberry liqueur Excellent. Bear's Score: 93 points. perfume. Excellent. Bear's Score: 92 points. GALLO SONOMA ESTATE Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, 1999 $35.56 btl $195.74 case 6x750ml Made from Gallo's best Chardonnay, barrel-fermented and aged on the lees (which are regularly stirred) in 100% new light-to-medium toast French oak barrels, this lively juicy, minerally, well-focused, classy, balanced Chardonnay is about as close as Sonoma gets to a wellaged 1er cru Meursault. The ample fruit is in the green pear, ripe apple, peach, and tropical lime range with notes of banana and butterscotch and a hint of vanilla. The new oak is almost completely integrated. The wine is very well balanced with a fine feel, good intensity, and a super long finish. Excellent. Bear's Score: 92+ points.
713-526-8787 (continued from p.1) . CRU BOURGEOIS - Because there were many chateaux left out the 1855 Classification due to newness or lower prices, and because a number of new chateaux have been established since then, there were a large number of very good but unclassified Medoc chateaux. Many of these chateaux banded together to form the “Syndicate of Crus Bourgeois”. In 1978, they classified themselves as Crus Grands Bourgeois Exceptionnels, Crus Grands Bourgeois, and Crus Bourgeois, in descending order of quality. Many of the best of these wines stand up very well to wines ranked as high as third growths in the Classification of 1855. LEFT BANK, RIGHT BANK – Bordeaux is split in two by the Gironde, a large estuary formed by the confluence of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers. If you are facing north (or down river), the Medoc and Graves are on the left bank and St. Emilion and Pomerol are on the right bank. The wines of the left bank tend to have a high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the mix. Almost all of the wines of the right bank are based on Merlot. MICROBIOLAGE – A technique for bubbling a small amount of oxygen into wine in the barrel for gentle oxygenation without racking the wine off its lees. PETITE CHATEAU – A chateau, usually lower priced, not included in any of the classifications. A chateau that could not be considered a classified growth. PIGEAGE – (pronounced peej ahj with soft g sounds) The Burgundian method of cap management where the cap of grape skins and pulp is punched down into the fermenting juice and so broken up so the juice mixes with the skins allowing extraction of color, flavor, and tannin. PUMP-OVER – The more typically Bordelaise practice of pumping juice from the bottom of the tank and spraying it over the top of the cap so it extracts color and flavor and tannin as it filters through. RACK, RACKING – Racking is moving the wine from one barrel to another, often using a siphon (pumps also may be used) to get the clear wine off its lees in the old barrel and feed the wine some oxygen through air exposure. Cabernetbased wines need more racking than Merlot-based wines as Cabernet needs more air than Merlot. SECOND WINE, SECOND LABEL – Many chateaux make more than one wine. Often they take the best of what they make and bottle it with the name of the chateau. They then take what doesn’t make the cut for that “grand vin” and blend the best wine they can and label it with a second label. The wine left after the second wine is made is generally sold off in bulk. In the best case scenario (such as at Latour, or Margaux, Pichon Baron, or Rauzan Segla) these “second wines” are high quality, earlier drinking expressions of the estate that reflect many of the same characteristics as the grand vin. In the worst case, they are junk. TERROIR - (pronounced tear whar) takes in the whole combination of soil, climate, viticultural practice, and happenstance of location that gives a wine from a single site its uniqueness. Great terroir comes through in great wine. It is possible to make bad wine from great terroir but not the reverse. Terroir also denotes that unique character of the site as it expresses in the wine. TRIAGE – the sorting process wherein the bunches of grapes are examined for ripeness and uniformity and any bad sections, unripe grapes, raisins, rot, or excess stems and leaves are cut out. Most often, this is done on sorting tables topped with slow moving conveyer belts to feed the clusters past the experienced workers. UNION DES GRANDES CRUS (OR UGC) – The organization of Bordeaux producers that includes most of the classified growths and the top wines of Pomerol. The UGC puts on a huge trade event in Bordeaux at the end of March each year and several smaller tastings around the world during the course of the year. Spec's Next Wine Tour CHILE and ARGENTINA Your job is to get to Buenos Aires by early afternoon on Saturday, September 4, 2004. My job is to show you Buenos Aires including fine meals with fine wine, tango shows, coffee at la Recoleta, markets, and shopping on Saturday and Sunday. Monday we are off to an Argentine estancia for a traditional barbecue lunch and a gaucho demonstration. Monday night we will fly to Mendoza where we will stay at the Park Hyatt. Monday dinner will be at a local landmark restaurant Pan-y- Teatro, in Mendoza. Tuesday and Wednesday will be spent touring the wine country around Mendoza and visiting three producers a day. Some meals will be in the wineries. Thursday morning we will fly to Chile and Thursday afternoon and evening will be spent touring wineries south of Santiago. Friday will offer wine touring and dining in and around Santiago. Saturday morning will offer one winery visit and then lunch and shopping before we go to the airport to return to Buenos Aires in time to fly back to the U.S. Saturday (September 11th) night. Round trip airfare from the U.S. to Buenos Aires is not included in this trip so that you may extend your stay in the front or at the end and may use airline miles for upgrades or free tickets. Double occupancy will cost $2400 per person and includes all meals, hotels, visits, tips, and fares (except the fare from the U.S. to Buenos Aires and back). For more information, please call Kim Levy at Spec's at 832-660-0250 or email Bear Dalton at Bear@specsonline.com.
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What I Tasted on My Spring Break - SPEC's Liquors

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