Grolleau, Ruché and Mayolet...

These three seemingly unrelated varieties of red wine reflect a new trend I noticed in cooler NYC wine bars and stores: digging into local, less known grapes, which are traditionally produced in small quantities, fermented without oak and not meant to be aged. All these wines, which I had in the last 3 months share certain general taste characteristics: floral nose (leaning toward rose with Le Cousin Grolleau and Luca Ferraris Ruché), light to medium body, spicy mouth with strawberry sweetness, black pepper finish and rejuvenating tartness. They are compotey, slightly cloudy, Ruché being the darkest in the group.

Le Cousin Grolleau 2007
90 points

Grolleau is an acidic, low alcohol Loire variety known mostly for Rose d'Anjou... grolle means "crow" and it refers to the deep black grape berries.

Luca Ferraris Ruché 2009
87 points

A tiny Piemontese DOC region around Asti: "Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato" is most likely a product of an 18 century import from Burgundy... Ruché is known for it's peppery-bitter aftertaste.

"Vin Des Seigneurs" Coenfer Mayolet 208
89 points

Mayolet is a naturally occurring hybrid of Petit Rouge and Cornalin. It is rare and indigenous to Vallee d'Aosta, where it grows at high elevations (about 900 to 1,000 meters). High minerality, white pepper and sweet, red fruit flavors.

All simply great... and all $20 and under in NYC. I found the Grolleau ($20) and Coenfer "Vin Des Seigneurs" Mayolet ($16) in LES September Wines, which is becoming my favorite wine store in the city. I would also include into this group the Verduno di Pelaverga I had in Bologna last summer... energetic, young but complex, refreshing. These are fantastic lighter fare pasta wines, including fish and seafood... I had Les Cousin recommended with oysters at 10 Bells and it worked really good.

Philippe Le Hardi Santenay 1er Cru La Comme, 2005

This 1-er Cru Santenay was purchased in 2007 from the producer in Burgundy. It was really hard to keep my hands off it for 3 years, but finally the day has come! Pretty much everything about this wine was a surprise: full body, velvety brick red, after uncorking exploded with flavors of fresh red currant. That phantom bouquet disappeared after 10 minutes: the nose shifted toward Jeggermeister, green parsley, mint and lingering rubber notes. Equally volatile mouth settled on licorice and strawberry, with a bitter herbal finish. To match the wine I made duck breast in Pinot noir reduction sauce, with shimeji mushrooms and grilled squash. Everything worked out pretty amazing!

25 Euro from producer, 90 points

Bruno Clair Marsannay Rose, 2008

An honest, steel cask aged Burgundy rose Pinot Noir, picked up at a spring tasting event at Union Square Wines NYC. Flavors of strawberry and Champagne, dry, mineral, sharp with traces of watermelon and sour cherry. Served chilled, so the nose seemed pretty minimal, mostly red fruit... Great spring wine! We paired it with cherrystone clams and had a blast.
$25 in retail, 78 points

Pauline Vigneron Beaune 1er Cru, 2005

Picked up at a random liquor store in Chelsea, the price seemed a bit too good to be true... Turned out to be very good, but definitely not a typical cotes de Beaune... Leather, spice and pepper bouquet, musty and a bit gamey. The mouth was thick and chewy, schistey, chalky, mineral, lots of cocoa, cherry and a tiny bit of lemon in a strange, muddy finish. Medium body, healthy ruby red, yet with my eyes closed I would never guess it's a Pinot noir... I'd think a Languedoc rustic red of sorts. Yummy, but unusual... which probably explains the price tag of $25.

80 points

Henri Proudhon Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chambres, 2006

The spring is around a corner: break out these Pinot Noirs! This scrumptious bottle was found at Fanny's in Brooklyn, and accompanied a meal of seared scallops with broccoli sauce. Medium light body, red shifting toward brick, transparent and oily. Herbal nose, some notes of cinnamon and other spices. Mostly strawberry compote and molasses in the palette, seems like this wine was produced with plenty of sun. Not a knockout, but generally a very pleasant, gentle burgundy.

54$ in a restaurant, 78 points

Louis Latour, Santenay 2005

The driest, most austere, minimal Burgundy ever... Yet somehow you wanna keep drinking... A vegetal, spicy nose followed by some sharp, almost brutal, tartaric acidity and tannin driven mouth. Some vague attempts of red currant and apple, some lingering aftertaste of lime. Medium body and a dictionary burgundy color. I am guessing the bottle will be getting only better for the next 20 years. This wine makes you wanna put on your altar boy outfit. And the legitimate hardcoreness demands respect. 26$ in retail

73 points

Pierre Matrot Meursault 2007

Unoaked Chardonnay from an old-school Côte de Beaune producer Pierre Matrot. Basic, refreshing, mineral and a perfect match for oysters. A floral bouquet (violets, acacia) with a simple but elegant lemon and honey mouth, very mineral and dry. Accents of tea and grapefruit peel. Enjoyed over a birthday dinner at Pearl Oyster Bar in the West Village (which is more than recommended).

60$ (restaurant price)
80 points

Famille Peillot Bugey, 2008

Bugey is an appellation from Savoie in France, just a bit east of Beaujolais. This is my first time to try Pinot Fin, which apparently is a parent of Pinot Noir. A very strange, real and charming wine, which tasted like a mineral chardonnay with a shot of Cabernet Savignon. Very light body, not much tannin, but quite a bit of sharp acidity. Purple-ish red, very transparent, surprisingly well developed glycerin legs. Taste ways grassy, some mild, sweet cherry and other red fruit. Not much of a nose, but we served it chilled. Definite points for originality.
We drank it with some hunter's stew and fingerling potatoes: a perfect match.
20$ @ Blue Angel Wines, Brooklyn
78 points

Gigondas Les Pallieroudas 2006

80% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, organic, 80 year old vines from Cotes du Rhone. Very rare coffee and spices nose on this wine, followed by a mouth of coffee syrup, molasses, bitter herbs, caramel and plum compote. Dark and sticky, quite opaque. I liked how this wine is balanced with almost no acid... its the play of milky sweetness against the bitter aftertaste. It successfully accompanied barley with mushrooms and leeks in bacon.

$25 @ Blue Angel Wines, Brooklyn
80 points

Christmas in Krakow: some memorable bottles

Comte Dornfelder Barrique, 2007 (Poland)

This wine was a nice surprise: a solid, medium to full body red produced in southern Poland. Dornfelder is a German hybrid which is capable of surviving tough winters; reminded me of Petit Verdot in color and taste. Nice local oak, firm acidity/structure, blackberries... purple and velvety.
40 PZL (13$) from the producer.

Blason Timberlay Bordeaux, 2005 (France)
Tannic and full bodied: figs, raisins, some chocolate and tobacco finish... A surprisingly alive and pretty inexpensive wine from Bordeaux. Half bottle.

32 PZL (11$) at Vinoteka La Bodega













Sophenia Sythesis , Mendoza 2007 (Argentina)

Truly good. A balanced cuvee of Malbec, Cabernet Sav. and Merlot. The mouth seemed to be endless... Mostly mature fruit and oak. Opulent, supertoscan style nose. Definitely an aging wine. Parker gave it some crazy points.

160 PZL (55$) at Klimaty Poludnia (special tasting of Finca Sophenia products)











Antonelli Montefalco Rosso, 2003 (Italy)
Rarely do I get to drink a wine which makes me genuinely happy. This was one of them. Medium body, high viscosity, ruby red and full of wild strawberries, both nose and mouth. This Umbrian staple contains Sangiovese and Sagrantino, although doesn't really taste like either... Was absolutely perfect with home cooked venison.
10 Euro, from the producer










Pisano Tannat RPF, 2005 (Urugway)
The best of those world fashionable Uruguayan tannats I had so far. Ridiculously tannic, full body, gritty and almost too much to handle. This wine is bad ass. Perfect for cold winter drinking, would go great with game... but I can drink it solo.
120 PZL ($35) at Sala Wina












Paolo Bea: Rosso de VEO, 2002 (Italy)
A table wine from the legendary Umbrian producer Paolo Bea. Wild yeast, home made quality, a crazy volatile collection of tastes dominated by chocolate and mature apples. This should be tried at least once to know how wines tasted like in the middle ages:)
25 Euro, from the producer











Miolo Cuvee Giusepe, 2004 (Brazil)

Cabernet Sav. and Merlot done beautifully: thick dried fruit, silky mouth, oak tannin almost completely transformed into cocoa... Why aren't there more Brazilian wines in NYC?

100 PZL ($30) at Klimaty Poludnia

La Chapelle de la Bastide, Picpoul de Pinet, 2008

I don't get it: why aren't people more excited about Picpoul?
This is a fantastic deal, $8 at the BQE Liquors, if I was into white wines I would get a case.
Peach and rose bouquet, simple but effective lime, green apple mouth with a finish of mead.
Crisp, fresh, fun, paired great with our baked salmon & millet.

Think quaffable Languedoc version of Grüner Veltliner with an extra touch of class.

Patrice Rion, Gevrey-Chambertin Vielles Vignes 2003

This powerful Côte de Nuits drank like a Brunello! 2003 was definitely a hot vintage, and it's ready now. Medium to full body, brownish red with medium transparency, velvety smooth texture. Caramel, strawberry jam and subtle spicy notes (eucalyptus?) in the bouquet. Taste wise this wine was an explosion of fruit: mainly plum/prune, fig and cherry compote, with a nice finish of cocoa and coffee (which I attribute to perfectly aged tannin).

This is a Burgundy for a hedonist: less terroir, more pure joy. I had it with home made cheese Spätzle, chicken cutlet and Swiss chard... no complaints:)

$40 at Warehouse Wine&Spirits, NYC.

Louis Latour, Côte de Beaune-Village 2002

2002 wasn't a stellar year for red Beaune (91 points) but this gentle pinot noir is a good candidate for a daily dinner wine. Still purplish red, transparent with no signs of aging, medium body with healthy viscosity. I imagine there was a decent dose of tannin in this wine once, pretty much gone by now.

Soft, mellow and nebulous all around: this is a typical, solid but no thrills Côte de Beaune. Sweet red fruit in the nose, very slow to open. In the mouth: an attack of blackberry, cherry and mature apple mid-palette and a barely detectable pungent-spicy finish. I actually tasted durian fruit in the finish...

Rosemary turkey scallopini, quinoa and green beans seemed like a pretty good pairing.

Week in Burgundy, July 2007

In July 2007 a group of four entry-level wine enthusiasts (including my girlfriend Sakurako, Gosia, Sam and myself) undertook a little trip to Burgundy, France. We assembled in Zurich, where I happened to be for a conference, and drove a rental car all the way to Cote d'Or.

I just recently stumbled upon some photos from that trip and decided that it would be nice to post some on Dailyglass. After all this was the trip which turned me into a somewhat serious wine drinker, and made pinot noir my favorite grape variety. So in a way this blog wouldn't have happen without our week in Burgundy...


At the time spending more than $30 on a bottle of wine seemed outrageous, so this prevented us from drinking grand crus and older vintages... Nevertheless, we managed to hunt down several exceptional bottles and participate in 3-4 tastings every day.


To save money we camped out most nights, which made the whole thing affordable.The bulk of our limited resources went toward various culinary indulgences, which mostly consisted of beef, snails, roosters and foie gras. And cheese, of course ... including the local, super-smelly, half-liquid Époisses. Vegetal matter is not much appreciated in Burgundy region:)




One of the highlights was a half-day tasting class at Sensation Vin in Beaune. We decided to go with reds only, and tasted 10 wines which were samples of various local terroirs. That was a pretty well organized Burgundy crash course, including slides and handy vintage charts.


If I was to mention one bottle that particularly stuck in my memory, it would be the modest, 7 Euro Bourgogne Passetoutgrains 2004 from organic producers Pierre d'Heilly et Martine Huberdeau (picture below on the right). Passetoutgrains is a regional appellation, basically a cuvée of Gamay and Pinot Noir, where Pinot has to be at least 33%. We got the bottle at a remote abbey Pierre Qui Vire, along with some locally produced moldy goat cheeses. I still remember the deeply satisfying peppery black currant taste with grapefruit finish... this wine was so full of energy and life!

For anyone who is into wine: this doesn't have to be an expensive adventure! We loved it and , no doubt, will be back.

Map of the Côte de Nuits

Check out this pretty detailed map of village appellations in Burgundy/ Côte de Nuit. Red areas represent red Grand Crus, purple 1-er Crus. Probably the best place on earth to drink pinot noirs. Click on the image to enlarge.

Hubert Lignier, Bourgogne, 1998

I took a little risk with this $35 Burgundy: a bit too old for a regional appellation from a mediocre vintage... But I knew that Ligner is known for some serious pinots, which are often biodynamic and crushed by pigéage (actually climbing into the tanks and pushing down the cap with your feet). Apparently only natural yeasts are used.

This must have been the driest, most schizophrenic French pinot noir I have ever had. I am suspecting some Négrette was added along the way... Over the two hours of drinking I briefly went through every item on the taste wheel, as if the wine was undergoing a rapid chain reaction.

If I was to describe some of the more stable elements of the nose I would say red fruit compote and fresh cheese, maybe yogurt. But there were also micro-bursts of truffle, jasmine, white pepper and wild strawberries. It was medium-bodied, very viscous, particulate and purplish-red with no signs of oxidation.

The mouth was more consistent (and mighty dry) with cranberry, mature yellow apple and bitter spice. The amount of tannin in this wine made me think of nebbiolo or tannat... I guess that was what kept it from yellowing. It was an adventure for sure ... if I had another bottle I would let it open for two hours... It coupled pretty well with ham wrapped prawns and boiled leeks.

Tartness in the finish would be my only real complaint.

Domaine des Lauriers, Picpoul de Pinet 2008

My darling girlfriend made some chirashi sushi for dinner, thus I decided to try a white bottle for change...

I tasted Picpoul (also a grape variety) once before and remembered it as a tasty, sharp wine, kind of along the lines of Pignoletto or Grüner Veltliner. This $12 bottle was different: much bigger and meaner, lots of personality, not necessarily the way I like it though.

Medium to full body, greenish straw color (in the picture you see mostly condensation on the glass surface), mineral all the way. Bouquet of honeydew melon. Taste ways I got citrus/lime which abruptly turns into intense, chewy licorice with notes of schist, almost muddy.

Not my thing, but I respect it:). Boiled artichoke would be my optimal food match.

Louis Latour Pinot Noir, Burgundy 2005

I bought 3 cases of this stuff in 2007 at the BQE Liquors on Meeker Av. in Brooklyn ($12).
I've seen this lovely wine develop from a happy, light body, red currant and green apple type young pinot to a pretty serious, structured wine.
Although "Appellation Bourgogne Controlée" simply means that the pinot grapes could come from anywhere in the region of Burgundy, the 05' happen to be so fantastic that it simply doesn't matter... Additionally Latour is a producer with some degree of reputation.
So today's bottle was a dictionary "burgundy red" with a medium to full body. As you can see I made eggplant/Pecorino spaghetti to go with it...

Cassis, plum with hints of eucalyptus and green walnut on the nose.
Mature apple, cherry, lemon mid palate, tannic/vegetal finish of cooked green beans.

I hope to keep some around until next summer!

Meix-Foulot-Paul de Launay, Mercurey 1er Cru, 1996

I was surprised to find this bottle at Uva for $25... I guess Côte Chalonnaise of Burgundy has much less commercial appeal. Or maybe the wine is approaching its aging limit....

In any case, having this 13 year old bottle was a treat. I must say the nicest thing about it was the body and texture: thick and oily while completely transparent and deep red with hints of brick.
The nose is simple: fruit compote, jam. Cranberry, black cherry on the palette, finish of mocha and sea salt. Rock on.

Chateau Haut-Surget Lalande-de-Pomerol / Bordeaux 2006

Chateau Haut-Surget Lalande-de Pomeral

Bordeaux 2006

Price 32 USD

http://www.shoppersvineyard.com/1/42405/Chateau-Haut-Surget-Lalande-De-Pomerol?utm_source=Vinquire&utm_medium=WineFeed&utm_term=winebottle&utm_campaign=base

In typical bordeaux fashion this bordeaux carries high alcohol content but unlike many french reds it has a medium body.

There are hints of currant and mocha.

This is a cabernet sauvignon-merlot and cabernet franc with merlot at 70% dominating this wine, the Pomerol region is probably the

most famous Merlot region in Bordeaux and this affordable bordeaux delivers with rich flavour.

Combines well with pasta and meats.