Blog: Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Wines Of The Week - No. 2

We've scoured the wine press again this week to find the very best wines for you. This time, to make it easier, we've arranged them by price, from the cheapest (less than $10 for a half bottle) to the most expensive (around $330).

Domaine Chandon Pinot Noir 2006

We already rely on The New York Post's blogs to keep us up to date with all the latest Kristen Bell news. So we were super excited when they added a wine blog. Now we can get the news about our two favorite subjects from one place.

Domaine Chandon in Napa is known for its sparkling "champagne-like" wines. But it also bottles the three varietals (chardonnay, pinot-noir, and pinot-meunier) it uses to make its sparkling wine as separate table wines.

Michael Kane recently tried all three of these wines. His favorite was the 1996 Pinot noir, which is "a classic leathery red with full expressions of raspberry and strawberry, earthy truffle notes and a perfect balance of tannins, acidity and sugars." He rates it as "one of the best California pinot noirs I've had from 2006."

It's even available in a half bottle for less than $10!

Helfrich Gewürztraminer 2007

Last week we featured a wine review from Deb Harkness's blog Good Wine Under $20, but she also writes a column each week for Serious Eats.

Recently she reviewed three Gewürztraminers. Her favorite was the 2007 Helfrich Gewürztraminer from Alsace. She says it's "a stunning wine for the price, and one of the best value wines you can buy," and "perfectly balanced between fresh and lush with both clean pear and rich tropical fruit aromas and flavors."

The same wine was also a Wine Spectator daily pick. Alison Napjus gave it 87 points, describing it as having "lots of rose petal, cream, vanilla and nutmeg flavors."

Four Vines Tempranillo "Loco"

If Ken's Wine Guide hadn't already adopted "in search of the perfect bottle of wine" as its motto, I would have to claim it as my own! In fact, I can see it at the center of the future Ockman family crest.

Ken loved the Four Vines Tempranillo "Loco" 2007 from Paso Robles, California.

He gave it 94 points, highlighting its blueberry-like bouquet and wonderfully balanced medium body.

Here's what Ken said: "This wine is just stunning! It returns to top form and in my opinion challenges the 2005 vintage as the best Loco to date. This almost black and very opaque wine was extremely well received...It was clearly everyone’s favorite wine. This wine is made for hedonistic drinking. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Cheers."

Cheers to you Ken!

(The 2007 doesn't seem to be available yet, but keep checking back at the link above. In the meantime you can find earlier vintages easily, including the 2005 that Ken also loves.)

Chateau Ste Michelle-Dr. Loosen Riesling Columbia Valley Eroica Single Berry Select

Harvey Steinman from Wine Spectator recently gave this Washington state dessert wine 98 points!

He says of it: "rich, silky and polished, offering a plush, exotic mouthful of honey, pear, quince, orange marmalade and pineapple, with whiffs of mayflower, persisting impossibly long on the finish."

If you can't afford the single berry select version, you might still find the much cheaper normal Chateau Ste Michelle-Dr. Loosen Riesling Columbia Valley Eroica 2005 delightful.

Diedre Wollard at Luxist reviewed the normal version and found it "has a great mix of pear and mineral flavors and a lipsmacking finish. It's drier than some Rieslings but has just a smidge of honeyed sweetness that makes Riesling so appealing".

The normal version received eight fewer points from Wine Spectator, grounding it at 90 points, but it is also an order of magnitude cheaper!

Dom Perignon Oenotheque 1995

The San Francisco International Wine Competition had its 2009 competition last month. With just 4000 entries, they managed to hand out over 2500 medals. It's sort of a Special Olympics for the wine industry; everyone is a winner!

Still, it is impressive to win one of the best of show awards.

The best of show award for sparkling wine went to the 1995 Dom Perignon Oenotheque.

The 1995 was originally released in 2002, but a limited amount from their "wine library" was re-released recently.

According to DomPerignon.us, the 1995 was originally given 94 points by Wine Advocate and 93 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Wine Enthusiast said it was "intense and toasty on the nose, picking up scents of green apple and lime. Seems very young and fresh—capable of extended aging, but precocious for Dom, with enough fruit to make it pleasurable now. Supple and creamy in the mouth, this wine shows no sharp edges, yet boasts an extraordinarily long finish."