Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

2009 The Prisoner

A Slight Decline, But Still Sublime

I am a big fan of The Prisoner. This is not news to anyone who previously read my rhapsodic review of the 2008 vintage. If you haven’t, feel free to, either now, or when you’re finished here.

I’m also a big fan of this wine, although it does show some dissimilarities with its immediate predecessor.

For one thing, while Orin Swift Cellars is still the name on the bottle, a new crew owns The Prisoner. The 2009 is the first vintage bottled by The Prisoner’s new owners, Huneeus Vintners, who also own (among others) Quintessa and Faust in Napa Valley, Flowers on the Sonoma Coast, and Veramonte in Chile.

I’m not so sure the change in ownership has benefitted the wine. In fact, before finding any of this out, I had already decided I preferred the 2008. Still, this remains one of the single finest value buys in Napa Valley wine in my opinion. At $35 per bottle, you can easily do much, much worse.

In fact, don’t let my hand-wringing over the inside baseball of ownership dissuade you: this is some really, really good wine.

The 2009 Prisoner has a dark burgundy core in the glass, that lightens a bit to red at its edges. On the nose you’ll find ripe cherries, a touch of strawberry and raspberry. The nose is almost entirely fruit, and not quite as complex as the previous vintage. The wine is medium bodied, and the palate gives more of the complex aromas and flavors that are missing a bit from the nose: incredibly bright, jammy raspberry and cherry notes mingle with subtle dark chocolate and just a touch of smoke.

Soft, supple tannins round out the mouthfeel. Incredibly tasty.

Hopefully, Huneeus won’t fix what ain’t broke, and hopefully fans will be able to enjoy The Prisoner for years to come.

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

2009 Elio Grasso “Educato” Langhe Chardonnay

Turning Heads, Changing Minds (Mine, At Least)

I’ve got a pretty good deal when it comes to tasting Italian wines. A very close friend, Gwyneth Hogarth, is the bar manager at Prima, a sublime local Italian ristorante. My wife and I go in there, and the Italian wine flows. It’s why I, a Californian of Irish, German, and Portuguese descent, have spilled so much ink on the grape juice of Italia.

I especially dig Italian takes on chardonny. The “I Sistri” is from Tuscany, but this, the “Educato,” is from Piemonte.

But back to the ristorante…

In the dim lustre of a fine Italian eatery like Prima, there are few things I like better than great red Italian wine. Barolo. Brunello di Montalcino. Chianti Classico. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. There’s something about the classic red wine flavors, the robusto, the machismo, of the big reds of Piemonte and Tuscany that go so well with not just the food, but the downright sexiness of a great ristorante.

But, whenever I head out to this particular spot, Gwyn always insists I try a white wine or two. Or three. Or four. She’s good like that.

So here I am, staring at a bottle of “Langhe Chardonnay,” whatever that is. I mean, obviously, it’s chardonnay. But Langhe Chardonnay? As it turns out, Langhe Chardonnay is a DOC designation in the region of Cuneo, part of Piemonte. And, as it turns out…

First off, what kind of chardonnay drinker are you? (Assuming, of course, that you are one to begin with.) Normally, I like my chardonnays unoaked. Chablis style. I’m not a fan of over-extracted secondary ML Cali monsters. In general.

Now, perhaps, I have to rethink any kind of blanket opinions I have about chard. The Educato goes through malolactic fermentation, and spends seven months in new French oak.

Seven months. In new French oak.

And it’s stunning.

Light, glistening gold in the glass. Subtle aromas on the nose, subtle subtle subtle. Butterscotch, butteriness. A touch of caramel. All of it subtle and unassuming. (I promise, I will not use the word subtle again. Maybe ever.) Elegant, light on the nose.

The Educato is full bodied, and a touch sweet. Not dessert wine, of course, but the slightest bit off-dry. Understated hints of nutmeg and honey, and a few other spicy notes open up presents on Christmas morning all up in your mouth.

The nose shows off the butter/butterscotch I expect from ML, and the palate has more of the spiciness imparted by the oak. But this works, this is good shit.

I can no longer claim my favorite chardonnays are all unoaked, Chablis-style. Not any more.

2009 Elio Grass "Educato" Langhe Chardonnay

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

2009 Mollydooker Velvet Glove Shiraz

Big Aussie Kicks Ass, Takes Names

Let me get something out in the open real quick: this wine is 16% alcohol. Now, most of you who have read my blog for a while—I suppose I should say, those who stuck around during my long, and unexcused absence—know I don’t tend to care for high-alcohol wine. Normally, I do not.

This is a special case. Or my tastes are changing. Or something else. Regardless, I love this wine.

I was introduced to this wine during the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, Washington. During a “speed-tasting” event, this was one of the red wines offered to us to try. It was, off the bat, big, bad, (like the way Michael Jackson used the word “bad”) and bold.

This is Mollydooker’s crown jewel shiraz. I’m a big, big fan of their Blue Eyed Boy and Boxer shirazes, and will hopefully be writing up at least one of them soon. The Velvet Glove is a pricey number, however—between $150-$200, which hurts to even think about.

Like a lot of good shiraz/syrah that I’ve had, the coloring on the Velvet Glove is a lot more purple than it is red or black. The edges pink out a bit, but your glass will be purple to the core. The nose is pretty bad ass. Lots of dark red fruit, some earth and some cigar box. The most interesting thing to me was that my nostrils didn’t burn.

Remember, 16% alcohol. This thing should be torching nosehairs. But it doesn’t.

The wine is very full bodied, with a long, loooooong finish. The alcohol again doesn’t go crazy on you, though it is more apparent on the palate than on the nose. Still, very good balance here. Big plum and black cherry notes. Lots of fruit, but still enough to keep a no-fruit-bombs guy like me interested.

The wine may be priced out of most people’s reach—including my own—and the populist-slash-class warfare combatant in me wants to dock this wine just for having the audacity to reach up close to $200 per bottle. But i can’t.

It’s just too tasty. I can’t stay mad at you for long, Velvet Glove.

Verdict: 95/100