One great historic tasting

I'm sorry that there are only two possible senses that I can communicate with on this blog. You can read and look at photos, and if you really want to, you could run it through a speech program and listen.

But you can't smell or taste the wines I'm about to describe, nor experience their mouthfeel, and that's a damn shame.

On Saturday morning I had the honor of co-hosting one of the best tastings I've ever been to, as a precursor to this year's induction into the Vintners Hall of Fame. David Breitstein, owner of the Duke of Bourbon store in Canoga Park, brought some historic California magnums from his collection, and was matched by a couple from some Hall of Fame winemakers. That's David in the photo, flanked by Warren Winiarski and Mike Martini.

This tasting will never be duplicated. The oldest wine -- and my favorite -- was a 1956 Louis M. Martini Pinot Noir made as an experiment by VHF member Louis P. Martini; his first commercial release was 1957. Mike Martini, Louis' son and now the master winemaker, said he last drank the wine on the day his father died because he had the blues, and after the one we drank Saturday there's only one more left. Mike took the bottle home afterward because his father personally wrote the bottling date on the upper left corner of the front label (check out the photo).

Anyone who thinks California Pinot doesn't age should have been at this tasting (note for next year -- it was only $150 for 7 irreplaceable wines and included a winery lunch afterwards.) Mike said his last bottle of it had only a 30-minute window of drinkability, but this wine was lovely: perfumey, savory after 45 minutes, with plenty of dried and fresh cherry fruit and tremendous complexity. Mike said that this was the wine for which his father developed the Martini Clone of Pinot Noir that now accounts for about 1/3 of all Pinot grown in California. Let's hope they all age that gracefully.

We also enjoyed a 1970 Louis M. Martini Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon that Mike said was one of the first wines in Napa for which a winery did a barrel-selection reserve wine. In his day, Louis P. Martini was known for soft tannins and gentle mouthfeel, and critics claimed his wines wouldn't age. Martini responded by holding some wines in the cellar and selling them for 50 cents extra for each year of bottle age. The 1970 Special Select Cab -- the top of the line wine, one of the best in Napa Valley -- was less than $3 on release. That would have been a great investment, as the wine was supple and beautiful today.

Al Brounstein was inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame this year, and unfortunately he's no longer with us, but his wife Boots Brounstein and son Phil Ross searched their collection for a special bottle for us. They settled on the 1978 Diamond Creek Vineyards Gravelly Meadow Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. After more than 30 years it still has its structure, like a war veteran with his pride, yet has softened over the years and become easily approachable for anyone. Boots said they have very few bottles of it left, so we were glad to taste it.

Brounstein was famous for making three different wines (and occasionally four) from sites on his relatively small vineyard with different soils. Ross said it took him 15 years to turn a profit, in large part because nobody understood the idea of terroir that Brounstein was trying to prove.

Winiarski, a VHF member, told us that unlike Brounstein, he preferred to blend grapes from the different soils on his site. Winiarski said that Cab grapes grown on volcanic soils brought a fire character, while Cab from clay soils brought water. Fire, water, fire, water, he repeated: for a scientific guy, Warren sounded quite metaphysical. Whatever his philosophy, his 1985 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars SLV Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was awesome, and the first of my glasses to empty (how did that happen?) It still has punch and backbone, as well as vibrancy, yet the mature flavors give it depth. It wouldn't be cheap, but this is the perhaps the most possible of these wines to acquire today, so if you see it, go for it. Warren believed after tasting it that it will last another decade or more in the cellar. I hope to test that theory sometime.

Incidentally, the bottle is stained because it survived the Northridge earthquake in Breitstein's cellar, while the bottle beside it did not.

The 1969 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon was stellar, but we didn't have a live person there to talk about it, so Warren and David shared stories about Bob Travers.

But my favorite story of the day came from Boots Brounstein. When she and Al moved to Napa Valley they didn't know anyone, so they sent invitations to all the existing wineries to come to their house one weekend for a party by their lake. Three hours after the party was supposed to start, nobody had arrived. All the food was sitting uneaten. Hostess disaster. Then they heard a car come over the hill. It was Winiarski and his family, the only people to greet the newcomers. The audience applauded Winiarski's social graces, but he demurred. "My kids wanted to swim in the lake," he said.

Only one wine was corked, the 1985 Heitz Martha's Vineyard Cabernet, and that was a disappointment, but 6 out of 7 ain't bad.

The last wine we tasted was a 1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia. Though it's only 13.8% alcohol, it was the highest of the group -- some of the others were an impossible-to-imagine-today 12 or 12.5% -- and to me, it was like following a Chopin recital with Emeril Lagasse going "Bam" in my face. Yes, it was a nice wine, but in this crowd it was a rambunctious youth.

I am sorry to tease you with these descriptions, but you know, we're going to do something like this again. Don't miss it next time.

Free wine tasting tickets for haiku

UPDATED: Contest winner announced below

I've got another giveaway contest here, so sharpen your pencils, haiku fans.

The tickets are for the Donkey & Goat Winery Open House in Berkeley. I really like the Donkey & Goat wines. They're very European-style, never overripe, fermented with wild yeasts. The Chardonnay is one of the most Chablis-like you'll find in California, and the Syrah is an earthy wine with real character. And owners Tracey & Jared Brandt are fun people, so I'm sure this will be a blast.

I'd go myself, but I'll be in Burgundy (it's a tough job but somebody has to do it). So I'm giving my tickets away to whoever writes the best haiku that includes either "donkey" or "goat." This should be more of a challenge than it seems, as most urban folks who are close enough to attend the tasting aren't around a lot of donkeys and see goats only on menus.

The details:

Donkey & Goat Winery Open House
Saturday, March 20 1 p.m. -- 5 p.m.
2323 B 4th St., Berkeley
510-868-9174

Taste 7 new wine releases, eat goodies from new Berkeley restaurant Locanda da Eva, and enjoy jazz played by the Michael LaMacchia Trio.
(If you don't trust your haiku skills, click here to buy a $20 ticket)

Contest details:

Write the best haiku that includes either the word "donkey" or "goat." Put it in the comments below.

The deadline for entries is 5 p.m. Berkeley time on Wednesday, March 17.

I will announce the winner promptly afterward. It is YOUR responsibility for making sure I know who you are so I can get your name to Tracey and Jared. You might want to leave your Google profile open so I can check it. On my last contest I had to award the tickets to a runner-up because I couldn't contact the winner, so do keep that in mind.

I'm declaring the Mourvedre lover the winner. I like the subtlety of the donkey reference; that's in keeping with the Japanese aesthetic. Congratulations and enjoy the tasting.

Old-vine Zinfandel tasting notes

I have a story in the Los Angeles Times today about old-vine Zinfandel. There wasn't space for many tasting notes, so I'm supplementing with some wines that I just didn't have space to include.

(By the way, isn't that picture fantastic? I don't know Robert Durell, but I want to thank him for drawing people into the story)

Bucklin Bambino Old Hill Ranch Sonoma Valley Zinfandel 2007
From newer vines on this superb old vineyard, this wine shows that the terroir is as important as the age of the vines. Savory and earthy aromas of prosciutto, black currant, herbes de Provence and Concord grape. It's also very savory, almost salty, on the palate. Flavors of pastrami black currant jam and tobacco leaf. Restrained alcohol (14.6%) helps make this Bambino elegant. 90

Bucklin Old Hill Ranch Sonoma Valley Zinfandel 2006
It's interesting to taste what different winemakers do with the same vineyard. In this case, as promising as this wine is, with apologies to Will Bucklin, I think it demonstrates the talent of Ravenswood's Joel Peterson. It's subtle and complex on the nose; it doesn’t reveal all at once. Aromas of cherry and raspberry fruit, with notes of black pepper, tobacco leaf, blood orange and juicy green plum. Even some blood orange. But on the palate, it's big-bodied, tannic and a little hot. I like the cherry fruit and the savory herbes de Provence note on the finish. 15.3% alcohol. 88

Ravenswood Old Hill Sonoma Valley Zinfandel 2007 ($60)
Just barely able to be called Zinfandel (76%). Winemaker Joel Peterson picks the Zin first, then the mixed blacks, and blends them together slightly differently each year. You'd expect such a wine to be complex, and it delivers, with intense cherry and berry fruit, earth, violet and black pepper. It's juicy on the midpalate but tannic on the back of the tongue, and there's pretty raspberry on the long finish. This wine ages well but is also fascinating on release. 93

Carlisle Two Acres Russian River Valley Red Wine 2007
This is one of the most unusual old-vine field blend wines in California: a Mourvedre-based field blend that Mike Officer says is one of his most popular. Initially earthy and a little funky on the nose, it gets more fruit-driven (dark cherry) with air, along with notes of raw lamb, black currant and black pepper. On the palate, it's dark cherry with that funky, raw-lamb note, almost pungent. Thirst-quenching acidity. Savory on the finish, like grilled lamb. I can’t help wondering what it would be like to drink with lamb. Just 13.7% alcohol, so it's food-friendly. 90

Carlisle Carlisle Vineyard Russian River Valley Zinfandel 2007
Wow, what a nice wine, one of the best I tasted for the story. Juicy blackberry, coffee grounds and crushed stones notes with good acidity and balance. There's a hint of saltiness, and violet comes out on finish. 14.8% alcohol. 93

School House Vineyard Mescolanza Spring Mountain District Venerable Red Wine 2006
A very savory wine with black currant fruit, earth, a pretty floral note and a smoked ham note. Also a little black coffee. I like the mouthfeel, present but not heavy. It reminds me on the palate of a Cotes du Rhone; in fact, this is a Zinfandel that tastes French, if you can imagine that. 15.0% alcohol. 90

Starry Night Nervo Station Vineyard Alexander Valley Old Vine Zinfandel 2007
I liked this wine more the more I drank it. I know that implies that I didn't like it at first, but that's not the case. In this crowd, it seemed more simple initially in a way that most people would enjoy: juicy black fruit with a note of vanilla. Of course, there's nothing wrong with juicy black fruit, and the underlying notes of mushroom, pine forest and anise add substance. Just 14.4% alcohol, the bottle started to empty surprisingly quickly with dinner. This might be the gateway drug for all old-vine field blends. 92

Three Evangelho Contra Costa County Zinfandel 2007
An interesting wine that reveals itself gradually: Black and red berries, black pepper, earth. There's also a woodiness that’s not really oakiness, as well as leafy and chocolate notes that remind me of Cab Franc. Nice mix of savory and fruitiness that keeps growing on you. 14.8% alcohol. 90

Red Bicyclette fraud -- a contrarian view

By now you have probably read that 12 members of a French consortium were convicted of fraudulently selling Merlot and Syrah as Pinot Noir to Gallo, to be bottled under the Red Bicyclette label.

I've been reading the finger-pointing stories, such as Dave McIntyre's piece in today's Washington Post, and maybe it's jet lag, but I can't help feeling contrarian.

I know it's a crime, and I'm glad the French authorities are taking it seriously. But I don't feel sorry at all for consumers who were duped.

Here's why: Why would anybody expect Pinot Noir from the Languedoc region from Gallo for $8 to be good in the first place?

If you only have $8 to spend on wine, you should be looking for competence, not greatness. And you most definitely should not be looking for Pinot Noir.

Taking it one step further, anybody who thinks an $8 bulk-wine Pinot Noir from the Languedoc is worth drinking would never notice that it's not Pinot Noir, which is exactly why the crime took so long to detect.

Moreover, while I think Gallo does a great job with some of its cheap labels -- some of the Twin Valley line are excellent -- I have never liked Red Bicyclette. If somebody falls for that silly label with the cartoon Frenchman, rather than buying a real French-run value wine from the same region (and there are plenty), then I just don't feel all that sorry for them.

It's a crime, for sure. But it's more of a crime against the rest of the industry than against the consumers who bought the bottles. The French conspirators, as well as Gallo, gave some Americans an unrealistic expectation of how cheap Pinot Noir can be. That hurt legitimate growers all over the world who were unable to move their $25 Pinots -- and even $25 is pretty cheap for drinkable Pinot. I'll cry for struggling vintners, but my eyes are dry for Red Bicylette buyers. It's just like when somebody sidles up to you and offers you a Rolex for $50: You get what you pay for.

What department stores need: a Scotch bar

Browsing in the Isetan department store in Tokyo's Shinjuku area, I discovered a great new idea in making shopping more painless: A Scotch bar.

The bar sells rare and unusual Scotches -- and a few Japanese single-malts -- by the shot, starting from about $3 US. Given the quality of the whiskeys, as well as the service, I expected the prices to be much higher. A dedicated bartender who knows his wares well pours your shot and also gives you a glass of bottled water on the side. I could get used to shopping like this.

I chose an Arran single-malt matured for 8 years in a Sassicaia wine cask, and imported directly from Italy by Isetan. It was 55% alcohol, so I added a wee drop of water, but not before enjoying a sip neat. I liked the complexity, with grilled wheat toast and buttery notes, though I didn't detect any wine flavors the way you do in, say, Glenmorangie's various wine bottle-finished Scotches. The long smooth finish was the highlight. For 315 yen ($3.50), it was the price of a latte and a lot more useful in easing the stress of shopping.

My friend Lucy had a Japanese whiskey, Ichiro 18-year single malt, which our bartender said recently won a contest somewhere for world's best malt. It was 46% alcohol and the attack was actually a little sharper than the Arran's, but ultimately I liked it better without the water. It had a really interesting smokey bacon character and a nice smooth finish. And the shot was just 350 yen -- less than $4 US.

In Tokyo, those prices are insanely cheap. Most small bars sock you with a cover charge just to sit down that's usually more than 1000 yen. I once had a shot of Springbank 12-year at an unexceptional neighborhood bar -- one shot -- and it cost me more than $50 with various fees. So you could have three excellent, unique Scotches at Isetan for less than the price of a seat elsewhere.

Isetan also has a separate wine bar and a Spanish ham bar; the former seemed overpriced, but the latter wasn't a bad deal. And when you emerge from little alcoves of peace and pleasure, you can have some of the world's best chocolate just around the corner. But who needs to emerge? Shopping everywhere should be like this.

Join us at the Vintners Hall of Fame

Want to hobnob with some of California's star vintners while grazing on food made by celebrity chefs?

Next weekend (March 13) you'll have the chance, as the Vintners Hall of Fame inducts its Class of 2010.

I'm proud to be the chairman of the VHF's Electoral College, and I'm excited about this year's induction class. I'll be writing more about them later. But today I'm here to talk about the event, because tickets are still available.

This year the Culinary Institute of America decided to eschew a sit-down dinner in favor of walk-around grazing, after the appetizer portion of last year's dinner was so popular.

There will be food from Michael Chiarello (Bottega), mushroom magician Todd Humphries (Martini House), Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood), Anne Gingrass-Palk (Brix), Polly Lappetito from the CIA's own restaurant at Greystone, and others. I also plan to save room for desserts from Emily Luchetti (Waterbar and Farallon), Richard Ruskall (Montage), Sherry Yard (Spago) and the CIA's own Stephen Durfee.

Of course there will be wine, much of it related to this year's induction class.

I have buried the lead: this year we voted in Leon Adams, Andy Beckstoffer, Al Brounstein, Randall Grahm and Zelma Long. I believe Long will be harvesting in South Africa, and we may only see her by video link. Unfortunately Adams and Brounstein are no longer with us, although I believe Al's ebullient wife Boots will attend.

Fortunately, no event with Randall Grahm and Andy Beckstoffer in attendance is ever boring. We should be able to drink Grahm's wine, and some great wines made from Beckstoffer's grapes, while discussing their great long careers.

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the morning events, because one features yours truly. I will moderate as David and Judy Breitstein, owners of Duke of Bourbon in Hollywood and longtime collectors of California wine, open a half-dozen of their most prized magnums, telling stories about the wines and inviting a couple of special guests who made said wines. We'll be drinking some classics perfectly preserved in the Breitsteins' cellar.

Here's the list:

• Louis M. Martini 1956 Pinot Noir, California Mountain
• Mayacamas Vineyards 1969 Cabernet Sauvignon
• Louis M. Martini 1970 Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Selection
• Diamond Creek Vineyards 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon, Gravelly Meadow
• Heitz Cellar 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon, Martha's Vineyard
• Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon, SLV
• Joseph Phelps Vineyards 1997 Insignia

The two events are separate. The evening dinner is $250; the seminar with the Breitsteins and yours truly is a bargain at $150, since you could never buy a 750 ml of any of these wines for that. This is one event where I don't know if spit buckets are necessary.

Click here for more info or to buy tickets. Hope to see you there!

Migration leaves Goldeneye's shadow

I'm not generally a fan of second labels, but there has always been an odd exception in Anderson Valley: I like Migration Pinot Noir better than the main label, Goldeneye.

Now I will no longer have the anguished "What's wrong with me?" feeling of wondering why I prefer the $34 mixed-breed duckling to the $75 single-vineyard lead drake. Migration is becoming its own winery. I can only hope it keeps its focus.

The background is interesting. Both were started by Dan Duckhorn, an underappreciated wine visionary.

In the 1970s, when Chenin Blanc was still big and red wine planters were mostly betting on Cabernet, Duckhorn foresaw the Merlot boom. For my taste, even though he sold the winery in 2007 to a private equity group, Duckhorn still makes some of the best Merlot in California.

Then, in 1990, when almost nobody was making Pinot Noir here, Duckhorn started Goldeneye in Anderson Valley. Here's how long wine companies need to plan ahead -- the first vintage of Goldeneye (1997) wasn't released until 2000.

Goldeneye has always been about a style of Pinot Noir that Duckhorn correctly anticipated would be popular: big, ripe and bold.

"Goldeneye is focused on an American aesthetic of Pinot Noir," says Goldeneye winemaker Zach Rasmuson (left).

Starting with the 2001 vintage, Goldeneye added a second label, Migration, with wines at half the price of Goldeneye's.

I don't know this to be true, but I always assumed Migration got the lesser-valued barrels because that's the way second labels work. However, in this case the lesser-valued barrels tended be the less big and ripe ones.

From now on, Migration will get its own grapes and has its own winemaker, Neil Bernardi (right), an enthusiastic 29-year-old prodigy who has been assistant winemaker at Littorai as well as assistant winemaker at Goldeneye.

Ladies, don't get excited about this hot young winemaker: he's married. It's a nice story, too. Bernardi, a Marin County native, was preparing to intern in New Zealand and his mother was terrified he would marry a Kiwi girl and never come home, so she and a friend tried to set him up on a date with a Sacramento graphic designer they knew was also planning to visit New Zealand as a backpacker. But neither Bernardi nor the woman (Kimberly) was all that interested, though Bernardi did see her photo.

Several months later, Bernardi was in a hostel in New Zealand when he recognized her. Turns out they hit it off immediately and they ended up traveling around Asia for 6 months before returning to California, just as their mothers planned.

Speaking of planning, I asked the winemakers why Duckhorn Wine Company would want to expand like this, and Rasmuson said, "Why let an economic downturn stop us? It's the best time to grow a brand."

Bernardi will get good fruit to work with from famous vineyards including Marimar Torres and Heintz Ranch. Bernardi says the plan right now is not to make single vineyard wines like Goldeneye, which is probably sensible given the turgid market for $75 Pinots. Even $34 Pinots aren't an easy sell, but the Duckhorn umbrella has cachet.

Migration has also released the company's first Chardonnay, Migration Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2008 ($30). It has impeccable fruit sourcing from Dutton Ranch, Pellegrini and Balletto. I like the length of it, and it delivers good lemon fruit with some toastiness and a full, not flabby mouthfeel. I don't know if the world needs another $30 Chardonnay, but I don't bet against Duckhorn.

I had a chance to taste the Migration Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2007 ($34) against $380 worth of Goldeneye (five wines) with dinner at Wexler's (the cornmeal-crusted skate stuffed with pulled pork is one of my favorite dishes in SF right now).

My favorite Goldeneye wine was The Narrows Vineyard Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2007 ($75) -- raspberry fruit, soft mouthfeel, turns savory on the midpalate with a hint of white pepper, velvety finish. To me, it was the most Pinot-like of the Goldeneye wines. Yet I liked the Migration Pinot just as well -- typically Anderson Valley fruit-driven wine, with nice cranberry and some savory soy on the finish. Turns out Goldeneye is thinking about giving The Narrows Vineyard fruit over to Migration, though what that means for the pricing, I don't know.

In any case, it will be interesting to follow Migration from this point. Given Duckhorn's savvy track record, I can't help thinking he sees a balance backlash coming and has planned a more restrained Pinot brand to take advantage of it.