Malbec Wines from Cahors France Rise Again, the Black Wine

Black Wine: Malbec Wines from Cahors Region in France Rise Again

She says: What is “black wine” ? Black wine is a malbec wine from the region of Cahors, France which has such a deep purple color and is 99% opaque, so that you cannot see through it. Those of you fond of eyeing your wine tasting friends through the rosey lens of your filled glass will find that it is not possible to see them through the “black wine”.
Tell me more you say?  While on a recent trip to France, I learned that this Cahors region of southern France is also the original birth place of the malbec grape. I didn’t know that, did you?

He Says:  Actually, yes, I did know.  According to Jancis Robinson, malbec likely originated in Burgundy and was once widely grown in Bordeaux and all throughout France. But the grape is susceptible to frost, mildew, rot and other nasty things, so most malbec vines have been ripped up and replaced with other more reliable and productive vines. Today in France, malbec is most widely grown in the Cahors region.

She Says: The Cahors wine region, where our “black wine” comes from, is legendary with history going back to 50 BC (over two thousand years old, my friends). The Malbec vines have been wiped out a few times by frosts and/or that pesky phylloxera (as He refers to above)  but you can read a much more thorough history of the Cahors France wine region here.

Imagine my delight when we returned home and a few weeks later learned that a short film about the black truffles and the black wine of the Cahor’s region, “The Scent of Black”, was awarded The James Beard award.  The film comes from the incredibly talented team at Grape Radio. Watch the film when you can.  Just 12 minutes – we’ve posted it for you here. We trust you will enjoy the film.

He Says:  To be a Cahors malbec, the blend must be at least 70% malbec. It is often mixed with merlot, another soft and fruity grape. And yes, the color of the wine is as close to black as you will find.

Here are the two Cahors Malbecs we tasted:
Black Wine: Malbec Wine from Cahors, France: Pigmentum 2008 Malbec, Georges Vigouroux $8

Black Wine: Malbec Wine from Cahors, France: Chateau de Mercues, 2007 Malbec, Georges Vigouroux $19

He says: Try a cross cultural tasting of your own.  If you’re into malbecs, try the 2007 Chateau de Mercues from Cahors alongside one or two from Argentina. You’ll notice some pronounced differences in the wines. The Argentine malbecs are not as dark in color – more of a deep purple – and burst through with more fruit and richer, more approachable flavors.  Taste both and let us know, which region do you prefer?  Leave a comment in the comments section.

Chateau de Mercues, 2007 Malbec, Georges Vigouroux, Black Wine from Cahors, France:

Black Wine: Malbec Wine from Cahors, France: Chateau de Mercues, 2007 Malbec, Georges Vigouroux $19

He and She both say:  We had a unique opportunity to taste two “Black Wines” from the Cahors region of France.  Black Wine is the name given to the merlots from this ancient wine region. It’s fascinating and a little mysterious. There’s even a short film about the region at this link.  More information about the history of the Black Wine here.  http://wp.me/p9Qfi-mN

He says: This bottle came from the same winery, but was significantly better than the Pigmentum malbec.  It had an inky purple color and dusty, leathery nose. The flavors were dark fruits, prunes and leather. It had medium tannins but could be enjoyed now or sit a couple of years. (In general, malbecs don’t age very well). A very nice wine, worthy of a 15 score.

She says:  You, my friend, can stop by for a drink anytime.

Served with: Roasted chicken sausage and roasted summer vegetables.

1974 Sonoma Vineyards Alexander’s Crown Cabernet Sauvignon

1974 Sonoma Vineyards Alexader's Crown Cabernet Sauvignon

1974 Sonoma Vineyards Alexander’s Crown Cabernet Sauvignon.
He said: My parents bought this wine in 1977, and it’s been in my father’s wine locker for almost 34 years. We decided to open up one of the bottles to see if the wine was still good.

This wine holds a very special place in California wine making history. It is the first single vineyard cabernet from Sonoma Valley. According to the back label, the Alexander’s Crown vineyard is a 61-acre vineyard located on a promontory above the Alexander Valley.

The winemaker was Rodney Strong, a major pioneer in the Sonoma winemaking world.  Sonoma Vineyards later became Rodney Strong Vineyards. Rodney Strong, now owned by Tom Klein, still produces an Alexander’s Crown single vineyard cab.

You can see the first vintage of Alexander’s Crown charted on this timeline on the Rodney Strong website.  http://bit.ly/AlexandersCrown

Rodney’s notes on the label and note card are very interesting. For one, he says the grapes were harvested at 24.2 brix on November 3rd, which is very late. Then he apologizes for the wine being high alcohol at 13.7%, which would be considered low nowadays. He also said the wine could age for 20 years if you had the patience. Well, we were super patient, letting it sit for 36 years!

And now for the tasting notes:
He said: I had some doubts at first when I uncorked the wine. It had a little off smell and tasted a bit acidic, but the color was fairly red and I thought it was just a bit tight. After about 10 minutes, the wine started opening up and becoming more approachable. After being open an hour, the wine really showed its stuff. It had great cherry flavors and the balance was terrific. This turned into a tremendous bottle of wine. I gave it an excellent score of 17. The bottle had a lot of sediment.

She said: I don’t know how I know this, but I would say this has structure. You were so worth the wait, you big strong man-wine.

P.S.  She says:  I went peeking into to Barry’s father’s wine notes to see what Mel might have had to say about Sonoma Vineyard’s Alexander’s Crown.  And here’s what I found.  Mel tasted and purchased the wine in August of 1977.   Mel wrote:  Fruity, smooth, lots of TANNIN, BEAUTIFUL

Mel kept an inventory of his wines on 3×5 cards and stored them in a little tin box.    He bought two cases of ’74 Alexander’s Crown (back when cases were 12 bottles). Each bottle cost $6.50  Only two bottles were marked off as being opened.  Let me see if I can do that math 24 bottles – 3 bottles minus not so perfect inventory keeping = still a whole lotta good wine left!  Of course there’s no way each bottle will be perfect, but this one was and that’s a good sign.   Enjoy the hand written notes!

Barry's father's handwritten notes on 1974 Sonoma Vineyards Alexander's Crown Cabernet Sauvignon

You can view additional, higher quality photos of the hang-tag, the bottle and Barry’s father’s wine notes on our Flickr page: http://bit.ly/BarrysentialsPhotos

Served with: A hearty homemade stew on a rainy and cold Saturday night.

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Red Wine Protects Against Radiation?

SHE says: Did you see that the big radiation cloud is headed to California? It will reach us tomorrow.

HE says: Yes, I know. don’t worry. They say it’s not enough radiation to matter.

SHE says: And some scientists’ research shows that the best protection against radiation is red wine.

HE says: They do not.

SHE says: Yes, they do!

He says: We are SO protected.

Here’s the article for your protection.

http://bit.ly/RedWineProtectsFromRadiation

Mount Veeder Reserve, 1990, Napa Valley

HE SAYS: Recently we had the pleasure of drinking a 1990 Mt. Veeder Reserve.  The Bordeaux style blend was made up of cabernet

Mt. Veeder Reserve 1990

sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot.  The winemaker was Peter Franus, who now owns his own winery, appropriately named, Peter Franus.  This is a wine that I had been holding for a long time, waiting for a really special occasion.  I remember I had promised to drink the wine with my friend Andy, but I couldn’t remember exactly why.  Anyway, a few birthdays came and went, so I finally just said, “If not now, when?” and decided to uncork it with SHE (the wife) and my great friends Andy, Nanci and Ken, all of whom I knew would really appreciate it.

At dinner, Andy reminded me that we had tasted this wine long ago on a trip in Napa.  I had forgotten about the circumstances, but went back and looked at my notes and it came rushing back.  Ah, yeah!  I will digress for a moment for ‘the story.’

We were in the tasting room at Franciscan in July ’95 and the power went out.  It was plenty light inside the tasting room, but the staff were dumbfounded for about 15 minutes because the cash registers wouldn’t work. “Why don’t you collect the cash now and ring up the sales later?” we asked.  Finally, after a lot of persuading on our part, they decided to pour wines again, for free.  After tasting some Franciscan and Estancia wines, Andy tells the server he’s really intrigued by the Mt. Veeder Reserve which had been named the number 1 wine by either Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast (must be in 1994).  And you know, since the power’s been off and we’ve been inconvenienced at having to wait a little while, and even though the wine is not available for tasting, how about it?  Persuasion, guilt, whatever, it worked and the guy uncorked a bottle of it for us to try.  Well, it was truly magnificent.  I rated it an 18, which is as high as I ever have scored a new wine.  I also remember we ended up being about an hour late meeting other friends at Hess Collection (fittingly in Mt. Veeder), but we had  big grins on our faces when we caught up with them.  Anyway, once back in L.A. Andy and I each bought one bottle for $30.  The wine was hard to find and that was a premium price for a California wine in 1995.

So, move forward 15 years and the promise was certainly there, but the big question remained, how would the wine hold up?  Would it still have that exquisite balance, great fruit and wonderful complexity?  The answer is, most definitely.  This 1990 Mt. Veeder Reserve was extraordinary.  Very elegant, wonderfully smooth, supple fruit with soft cherry flavors and a luxurious mouth-feel.  We enjoyed a 2002 Ravenswood Dickerson Zinfandel prior to that which was really terrific (17+), but this Mt. Veeder was superlative.
“This Mount Veeder was superlative. Truly one of the best wines I ever tasted.  I scored it a 19!”

SHE SAYS: Lay me down, roll me over and do me again.  This wine rocks.

HE and SHE both say: Here’s the website for the Mount Veeder Winery.  Beautiful territory.  http://www.mtveeder.com/

And if you’d like to keep tabs on that awesome wine maker Peter Franus, you can find Peter at his own winery now –  right here: http://www.peterfranus.com/ Thank you, Peter!

Cornerstone Cellar’s brand – Stepping Stone 2007 Grenache, Red Hills Lake County

Stepping Stone 2007 Grenache, Red Hills Lake County

Have you heard?  SHE loves Lake County more than Napa and Sonoma.

HE and SHE both say: SHE loves wines made from the grapes of Lake County.  Have you been there yet? It’s a pretty well kept secret.   Lake County is just 40 mins. north of Napa & Sonoma.  Beautiful trees, no crowds.  Think of an upside down wish bone.  Napa is on the right point, Sonoma is on the left point and Lake County is at the top of the stem.  Here’s the map. (Hey! What’s that over to the right? Do I see Lake Berryessa?  Oh, a complete coincidence to be sure!)

The history of the area is that Lake County was a booming wine town before prohibition even more popular than Napa & Sonoma in that day.  Prohibition caused them all to suffer.  When prohibition was lifted, Napa and Sonoma prospered famously, and Lake County became a bit like the wise, but distant uncle.  He’s awesome, but he lives so far away, no one visits.    Well, we did visit as one of SHE’s films was in the Coyote Film Festival and we loved wines made from their grapes! While we were there we learned that Lake County  soil has a LOT of volcanic ash and obsidian, and SHE guesses that that is why there is extra electricity in the grapes from Lake County.   Well, leave it to Cornerstone Cellars to find the hidden secrets of the nearby lands.  Hip, hip, hurrah!  They know just what to do with those Lake County grapes.

HE: I’ll start with my last note that I wrote — Yum!  I’m a big fan of grenache, whether it’s from Spain, France, Australia or California, as this one is. The varietal has lots of fruit, is easy to drink, and complements a lot of foods. This grenache had real nice structure.  It had tasty cherry flavors and a tad bit of tannins. All in all, a delicious mouthful — hence the “Yum!” I enjoyed it more than our guests, but if you like grenache, this one is nicely done! 15+

SHE: It’s your dry sense of humor that won me over.  If your sense of humor is dry enough, you’ll get a kiss.

FRIENDS SAY:
AL:  I haven’t had this much acid since the 60′s (don’t believe him – he’s not that old.)
RP:  After you taste it it goes ffsshhh*  (means she likes what it’s doing in her mouth )
LS:  What is that herb?
JC:  I’ve never had a wine bite like this.  After about 5 seconds it’s like “WOW!”

Cornerstone: Stepping Stone Cab Franc 2007 (Los Carneros, Napa Valley)

Well, it’s that time again.  Cornerstone Cellars sent us four bottles of wine to review.  (Thank you, Cornerstone!)  We organized two wine dinners to taste the wines with friends and the feedback is outstanding.  We even included their observations in these posts. Cornerstone brands are completely consistent year after year.  Amazing.  Something special happening over there.

Stepping Stone Cab Franc 2007 -  HE AND SHE BOTH SAY: Let’s talk about Stepping Stone.    Cornerstone’s intent with their brand Stepping Stone is to make excellent wines at moderate prices.  Don’t know about you, but we’re eager explorers  and take more chances when the prices are moderate.  Direct from their site, Cornerstone writes:  “For us, each new vintage is a stepping stone, one step in the never-ending voyage of exploration that is winemaking.”  So when you’re ready for a new experience Stepping Stone will be a reliable experiment.

HE SAYS: This cab franc is very soft and supple, with distinct cherry notes.  It is medium bodied, easy to drink and quite pleasant.   No tannin to speak of, so enjoy it now.  I gave it a very respectable score of 14.

SHE SAYS: Whoa!  You have my attention!

SERVE WITH: This cab franc will go with a lot of foods that pair well with red wine with, such as beef, pork or Italian food, or you can just drink enjoy with some noshes.

We let our friends chime in with their notes on the wine:

KMS: Easy & inviting & rich.
CC: Zingy, peppery taste
AR: Didn’t do anything for me.
SL : Very drinkable, inviting, soft & smooth
TE: I wish I could stop thinking about beer.
KS: Very ready to drink
MS: Oh, I’m sooo drunk.  (Recognize that? It’s the mating call of the Southern belle.)

Dinner: Tea Crusted Ahi Tuna

Which Wine Would Barry Serve?

Dinner:  Tea Crusted Ahi Tuna
On the side:  Salad of Romaine Lettuce (+ Kale for SHE) croutons + Barrysentials Parmesan Dressing
On the other side: Baked Potatoes w/French Sea Salt and Butter
Dessert:  not even thinking about it after last week.

FEATURED WINE: 
2007  Santa Rita Carmenere -   This Chilean red wine goes beautifully with very red Ahi-Tuna that is seared for a few minutes on both sides.   We cover our ahi with black tea and hot Chinese Five Spice before searing.   The red wine does a great job of cooling the heat and matching the Ahi Tuna.
http://www.wine.com/V6/Santa-Rita-Carmenere-Reserva-2007/wine/95902/detail.aspx?ct=1

Andeluna Vineyard and Winery – Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

He Said "Que bella!" She Said, "Que freddo!" The Vineyards at Andeluna Cellars

 

HE SAYS:  On the second day of our wine travels in Mendoza, we drove down to the Uco Valley. It was about a one hour drive from our lodge, part of it over some rolling hills.
The Uco Valley is higher elevation – the snow-capped Andes Mountains tower right there to the West. It is the highest altitude of the growing regions in Mendoza, and the area is more undeveloped so that seems to be where most of the new vineyard and winery expansion is occurring. Andeluna (meaning Andes moon) is a beautiful new winery, built by H. Ward Lay, of the Lay potato chip family. It took about five years to build this winery, but they did a fantastic job creating a contemporary version of an old Argentina ranch (estancia).

Their winemaker, Silvio Alberto, was named “outstanding young winemaker of the year,” and he crafts the wines, and gets input from famed consulting enologist Michel Rolland.

The lovely Gisela

Andeluna does charge for touring and tasting, but we got a great private tour from Gisela, a very personable young lady. Outside in the vineyard she explained how they manage the vines to have a specific number of spurs and clusters, and then how they go through and thin the clusters by 60-70% to concentrate the flavors in the grapes that do remain. I had the giant tasting room all to myself, as my wife thought 10:30 in the morning is too early to drink wine. Nonsense!
SHE SAYS: Shall we be accurate?  I was in the tasting room, too.  You were just in a world of your own and forgot I was there. And pretty cute you were, too.

2007 Andeluna Cellars Winemaker’s Selection Torrontés
HE SAYS: This was my first chance in Argentina to taste a Torrontés, which is the only wine considered to be 100% Argentinian. I really enjoyed this wine, which reminds me of a cross between a viognier and sauvignon blanc. The Andeluna Torrontés had nice fragrant nose and yet was very crisp and clean with grapefruit and tropical fruit flavors. This wine, with grapes from the Tupungato area, didn’t see any oak, and was very nicely balanced – a terrific food wine. 15  SHE SAYS: 10:30 in the morning  is too early to drink wine.

He Said "Wine. She Said "Coffee."

 

2005 Andeluna Cellars Reserve Chardonnay –
HE SAYS:  Half of the wine was aged for a year in American and French oak, while the rest stayed in stainless steel. This chardonnay had a nice, clear golden color and honeysuckle nose. It was nice and clean with a touch of oak amongst the citrus and vanilla flavors. It still had enough acid to go with food. Very tasty. 15+   SHE SAYS: Thx for the coffee.

2005 Andeluna Cellars Reserve Merlot –

She Said, "You're tasting how many wines?"

HE SAYS: This was a very nice Merlot, with a deep and dark rose nose. It was soft, with dark berry and touches of cinnamon and cocoa flavors. It had a good body and nice balance, with the fruit emerging from the medium tannins. It was aged for a year in French (80%) and American (20%) oak, then aged six more months in the bottle. I suggest aging it another 3-5 years. 15
SHE SAYS: 10:45 in the morning  is still too early for wine.

2005 Andeluna Cellars Reserve Malbec–
HE SAYS: Great purple color on this Malbec. It was dryer than the Merlot, with earthy berry and cherry flavors. Nice finish, but medium high tannins masked the fruit somewhat. 15
SHE SAYS: I love you, Malbec – but even 11:00 in the morning is too early.

2004 Andeluna Cellars Reserve Cabernet –
HE SAYS: This is a big wine, but the tannins were so strong that much of the fruit was masked. There were chocolate essences to it, but it definitely needs more bottle time to soften the tannins and let the flavors emerge. Hard to figure out at the moment. 14+
SHE SAYS: Ok, Ok, I’ll try it.  :-*/  !*!   I was right.  It’s just too early.

2003 Andeluna Cellars Grand Reserve Pasionada –
HE SAYS: A terrific Bordeaux-style blend, comprised of 35% Merlot, 35% Cab; 20% Malbec and 10% Cab Franc. (The proportions change each year, depending on the quality of the grape. In contrast, the ’04 is 49% Malbec, 26% Merlot, 17% Cab and 8% Cab Franc.) The wine was aged in new French (85%) and American (15%) oak for 18 months, and then aged for 8 more months in the bottle. This was a truly terrific and elegant wine, with great full flavors of cherry and berry and a touch of cocoa. The tannins were medium, so it could sit for a bit. By far, it was the best of the red wines by Andeluna and is worth seeking out. 16+
SHE SAYS: I believe you.

2005 Melville Estate Pinot Noir, Verna’s

HE and SHE both say: This is a very special wine that we share with you.    Melville Winery is a favorite spot of ours.  Melville Winery is located in the Santa Rita Hills of Lompoc, California, in the Santa Ynez Valley.  Got all that?   Hills, Valley, Saints, California, Mediterranean architecture . . . traces of heaven, right?   We’ve had a bottle of 2005 Melville every August  for the last three years and every year it gets better.  Find some if you can.

Melville Winery

Do we have an ulterior motive?  Indeed we do.  We are sharing our joy with you.  2005 Melville wines were in the oak barrels Aug.  2006  when we celebrated our marriage with a wedding reception in the barrel room at Melville Winery.  There were only 30 of us, but it felt like 300 and  there was a ton of  love, joy, dancing, good karma and laughter seeping into the barrels and  “terroir” of Melville that day.  When the 2005 wines were released, we bought a case — half pinot noir, half syrah — with the idea that we’d drink a bottle each year to celebrate our anniversary.  When we decided we wanted to be married longer than 12 years, we went shopping for more.  Uh, oh.

Now, back to the 2005 Melville Estate Pinot Noir, Verna’s

SHE drank her 2005 Melville Pinot with perfectly grilled lamb chops (medium rare, thank you), mashed potatoes, roasted heirloom tomatoes with eggplant, and Parma ham with melon and figs.   HE drank his 2005 Melville Pinot with that same tremendous Parma ham, melon and fig appetizer — a pairing made in heaven — and veal saltimbocca topped with more Parma ham.  Simply delicious.

HE SAYS: This wine was unbelievably good. From the very first smell to the glory of that first taste, all the way to the last swallow, this wine was outstanding.  Beautiful color, with a lovely rose petal and violet scented nose, with a touch of mustiness.  In the mouth, a most delicious bowl of strawberries and cherries. Very soft and well balanced, a real treat.  We tasted this wine at Melville in May ’07 and my notes say “tasty, nice body, good balance” — a respectable 14+ in my ratings.  No doubt the occasion and symbolism of the wine played a part, but this wine has grown up and developed into a seriously terrific wine.  It was truly one of the finest California or Oregon pinot noirs I have ever tasted.  It could be peaking now — gonna have to wait another year and see.  A thundering 18+!
SHE SAYS: Wow.  An 18+  Melville, are you reading?  I hope he describes me like that someday.  So to this lovely Pinot Noir, I say, “Mmmmmm. You are so sexy the way you sneak in and light my fire.  Thank you!”

HE SAYS: One more note on Melville wines — I generally prefer their main line from Verna’s for pinot and syrah versus their Santa Rita Hills and other single vineyard designations.  I find the fruit more forward and approachable in the Verna’s, which comes from their ranch in Los Alamos.  Regardless, they consistently make very nice wines and their winery setting is just gorgeous.  And if you’re in the neighborhood, be sure to check out Babcock right next door.  SHE SAYS: That is way too much information for me.  I just drink it.

HE and SHE both say: If you can find any 2005 Melville wines that were in the barrels that summer, we say pay whatever they want, just buy it!