Wonder Wines—Putting Haut Médoc to Bed

Click here for the "Wonder Wines" Resource Center—(all posts available)
Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Wonder Wines"

This is an "short" post—click here for an explanation of Round and Square post lengths.

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One year ago on Round and Square (1 April 2013)—China's Lunar Calendar 2013 04-01
One year ago on Round and Square (1 April 2013)—Calendars and Almanacs (h)
Two years ago on Round and Square (1 April 2012)—Hurtin' Country: Good Ole Boys
Three years ago on Round and Square (1 April 2011)—Theory Corner (1a): Bricolage

[a] Lush RF

Well, it has been a truly luscious week. 

Pat and I sampled wonderful, dry, tongue-puckeringly tannic little 750ml vessels of Haut-Médoc on five of the last seven days. A little over the top? Yup...but we are studying, after all. If you recall last week's post, we are learning about wine and the territory of Bordeaux known as Haut-Médoc. This is where Eric Asimov, chief wine critic for the New York Times, decided to begin his New York Times "Wine School." 

Why he chose Haut Médoc is just slightly more puzzling. Is it meant to be "representative" of Bordeaux, which Asimov rightly argues has to be confronted if we are ever to understand how people talk about wines in this world? Bordeaux has such a towering reputation in the world of wine that its influence has grown even as its wines—at least its mid-range to upper-range ones—have been priced out of the dining rooms of most wine lovers in the world. 

[b] Bordeaux Barrel RF

Asimov is right, I think. We need to understand something about Bordeaux if we are to get a toe-hold into the world of wine.

But why Haut-Médoc? Why not St. Émilion or Pomerol (the home of Château Lafleur, not to mention the iconic Château Chéval Blanc)? Why not "just" Médoc? That little "just" encompasses four of the original five premier growths in the classic 1855 classification (a sixth, Château Mouton-Rothschild, was added in 1973). But watery little inlet-land Haut-Médoc was a late-starter in the great Bordeaux competitions. 

And yet Asimov has asked us to study the taste and "character" of Haut-Médoc wines.

Again, I think he is right. 

Anyone with several hundred dollars for a bottle of Bordeaux can sample the truly terroir-shaking wines of Bordeaux. Haut-Médoc is really a picture of newness and growth (I use the word in several senses). And fascinating they are. Let's take a quick look at both the comments at the New York Times "Wine School" site and "our" own reactions.

Click here for a serviceable pronunciation of "Haut-Medoc."

Take a look at the New York Times "Wine School."

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[c] Chateaux RF

Pat and I sampled a range of 2008-2011 Haut-Médoc wines that were nowhere near "top notch." They were very good, though—exceptionally so, in many cases. If I could say one thing about Haut-Médoc wines in the 10€-15€ range, it would be solid. They are well-crafted, tannic (without the crazy 1970s Napa version of it...which, in the interests of full-disclosure, I will admit that I love), oaky (without the same excesses), and balanced, with mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and beautiful smatterings of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. 

It's (they're) a beautiful thing.

And then we had the 2000. 

We found it in a little chocolate shop on Hauptmannstraße in Erlangen (91052). It was just as well-crafted as all of the others, but it had aged in the bottle...and it was a 2000. If you don't know what that "means," you need to realize that (with massive individual disparities) 2000 was one of those years like 1945, 1959, 1961, 1982, 1989, and 2000 in Bordeaux.

[d] Haut-Médoc RF

I have had a fairly wide array of 2000s over the years, and I don't know if it is suggestion or pure wonder-taste, but there is something, a certain je ne sais quoi at work here.

Dry. Tannic. "Smoky" (Asimov's word). Well-constructed. And what does that mean?...that will be perhaps the most important thing we undertake over the coming years on Wonder Wines). 

I hesitate to add this, since Asimov (again, rightly, I think) criticizes our use of parallels, metaphors, metonyms, synecdoche, and, well, figurative language generally as we sip wine. Still, here is what I smelled and tasted with my 2000 Chateau Peyrabon (by no means a major player even in the world of Haut-Médoc). 

In other words, we sampled a fairly wide range of "cheaper" players in this sub-region. We learned a great deal about wine that, in Asimov's memorable phrasings, are "smoky" and not particularly "fruity."

Dark. Tannic. Dry. (Oaky). Puckering...slightly. Tobacco notes. Hints of chocolate. Earthy (with the vague taste of "dirt" that I love in the wines of St. Emilion...I am not kidding). Currant. 

Oh, and dirt (in it's very best and highly refined sort of way). 

I love dirt.

NEXT
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
The Greatest Wine...Ever
Nope. I won't be tasting it. But I'll tell you about it (and why about thirty wines challenge for the position. 

[e] Bordeaux Bedtime RF

Wonder Wines (1)—Taking Haut Médoc to School

Click here for the "Wonder Wines" Resource Center—(all posts available)
Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Wonder Wines"

This is an "short" post—click here for an explanation of Round and Square post lengths.

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One year ago on Round and Square (25 March 2013)—China's Lunar Calendar 2013 03-25
One year ago on Round and Square (25 March 2013)—Calendars and Almanacs: Introduction (b)
Two years ago on Round and Square (25 March 2012)—Hurtin' Country: Kentucky Bluebird
Three years ago on Round and Square (25 March 2011)—Beginnings: Rosebud

[a] Haut-Médoc RF

We'll start this series with the Haut-Médoc appelation of Bordeaux, and the first installment of the New York Times "Wine School." Eric Asimov has picked three wines from the 2009 vintage of Haut Médoc. This is a somewhat surprising place to start, not the least because the wines of Bordeaux are usually quite a bit steeper in price than others from just about any region of the world (except Burgundy). Still, he has a point. Bordeaux has had (as he says) such an influence on wine writing and "culture" that it pays to get a good sense of it right off the bat. 

Click here for a serviceable pronunciation of "Haut-Medoc."

Take a look at the New York Times "Wine School."

[b] Smokin' RF

It is useful that Asimov has added the reminder that it is fine to choose other Haut-Médoc wines (preferably from the 2009 vintage), and to discuss them with the others in the virtual classroom on the site. If you read the comments, you will see that a large number of readers sampled other (and often less expensive) wines from Haut-Médoc. This has caused a bit of confusion in the discussion (readers are writing about wines as diverse as a $10 bottle and others in the (for Bordeaux) modest price region of $60. Reading at least the "select" posts is a mini-education (with several "negative examples") in its own right.

This is (at least so far) what Pat and I have had to do. We have been busy, and have not had time (yet) to go look carefully for the bottles Asimov listed. We have had several nice, clean Haut-Médoc wines from the 2010 vintage. All fall easily into Asimov's second (very basic) category in the "fruity/smoky" binary. Yup, you aren't going to find well-made wines from Bordeaux that would lead the notes with "fruity." 

I have more challenges with Asimov's word "smoky," but I know what he means. If you read his New York Times introduction, you'll know that he addresses tannins quite directly, as well. And even the young and inexpensive (about 10€ or $13) wines from Haut-Médoc (bottled on the property), pack a tannic punch on the ol' mouth swirl.

Asimov's point (and I echo it) is to think about these matters while sipping (and, he says, eating). I would—in the spirit of the "wine school"—second his plea for quite basic thinking about the wines. What makes them complex (if they are)? How long do they "last" on the palate? And, when it comes to individual taste, how important is "fruity" and "sweet" to your own taste?

[c] Haut RF

I'll tell of one of the first exercises I ever did in wine recognition in a future post. Suffice it to say, though, that it maintained this basic, no-nonsense (and no "cherry blossom mixed with road tar" imagery) approach that will be our guiding light through this series. In a nutshell, we compared Gallo Hearty Burgundy and Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon ("Woodbridge" table wine version). Whoa! No matter what you "like" best, you'll know more about wine right from the get-go than you would from reading two years of tasting notes. You could add ranges of taste and subtlety to this basic format (from Boon's Farm to Chateau Margaux), but the "teaching" is right there in your interaction with the wine.

As Asimov states, none of this needs to be pretentious.

So, the irony is that we start with Haut-Médoc. It's expensive and a little pretentious. Still, it's a mini-version of the ol' Gallo-Mondavi test that I did many years ago. Read the piece in the New York Times and try a Haut-Médoc or two. Then write about it on the New York Times "Wine School" page and (I hope) here in the comments on Round and Square.

Let's see where it takes us. 

NEXT
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
More Haut-Médoc
We'll spend a little time looking at the region, some of its most famous wines, and discuss the wines themselves in a little more detail. 

[d] Bordeaux RF

Wonder Wines—Introduction

Click here for the "Wonder Wines" Resource Center—(all posts available)
Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Wonder Wines"

This is an "introductory" post—click here for an explanation of Round and Square post lengths.

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One year ago on Round and Square (18 March 2013)—China's Lunar Calendar 2013 03-18
One year ago on Round and Square (18 March 2013)—New Religion (1)—Everything
Two years ago on Round and Square (18 March 2012)—Hurtin' Country: Tell Me My Lyin' Eyes Are Wrong
Three years ago on Round and Square (18 March 2011)—Beginnings: Beethoven Piano Concerto #3

[a] Wonder RF

I have always been fascinated by fine wine. Even pretty good wine (a better fit for my budget) intrigues me. I often joke that if I ever make "Allan Bloom money," I will start buying some of the great wines of the world. Even short of that, the clustered notes of tobacco, cherry, pear, rosemary, and caramel make my head swirl—and in all sorts of ways.

[b] Chateau Lafleur

You see, I love to think about and read about wine just as much as I like tasting it.

Wine is an intellectual passion for me, much like country music, chess, and opera. And to satisfy my need for more wine...literature...I buy books almost everywhere I go. I just picked up a book at Thalia Bookstore in Erlangen, Germany, and it will play a large role in this series as it moves forward. It is called Die 1000 Besten Weine, and lists Number One through Number Tausend in a flowing, bubbling, and swirling account of the greatest wines the world has (and has had) to offer.

Dreaming about die besten Weine will account for about a third of the posts in this series, and will take up more than a little of our imaginations. I have hopes for trying a few of them, but let's not kid ourselves. The bulk of our "work" in this part of the series will be to read about what various wealthy people, winemakers, and a few lucky journalists have had to say about wines such as Chateau Lafite 1961 or Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 1974. This is the part of the series that will test how much you like reading about wine. Most of these we'll never drink (I am still kicking myself for not laying down "a mere" fifty dollars in 1985 for a bottle of 1974 Heitz Cabernet (already a legend then). Instead, I bought something like Budweiser and Super Bowl snacks. Big mistake.

[c] Inside scoop RF

The next part (about another third) of our posts will be made up of various discussion of grapes, regions, glassware, and other features of both the trade and the hobbies that flow from it. We'll look at the way people taste (and spit), as well as enough detail about oenology to give us a little sense of the science behind the art. I know a vintner or two, and we'll see if we can get some inside scoops.

The final third of our posts will be devoted to a terrific new series in the New York Times. Eric Asimov has begun something that he calls the New York Times Wine School, and it is a fascinating idea. Asimov stresses that the "school" is about shared (often virtual sharing) wine experience. People drink (yes, drink—not spit) the wines, talk about them, think about them, and then write about them. It is deceptively simple, but there seems to be real power there. It just started in the Times, and promises to be an interesting run.

Welcome to Wonder Wines. Let's get drinking, er reading.

[d] Napa RF

French Bulldog Puppy—Côtes du Luberon

Click here for the "Celebrity Commentary" Resource Center—(all posts available)
Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Celebrity Commentary" (coming soon)
This is a "small" (小) post—click here for an explanation of Round and Square post lengths.

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One year ago on Round and Square (3 February 2012)—The Emperor's Teacher: Talking Points (d)

[a] French Musings PD

I don't know who you are, 
but I will find you...[1]

[b] Roussillon RF

...and tell you that, while the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy are indisputably among the greatest in the world, there is a great deal more going on in French viniculture than certain aficionados with a binary imagination..let on.

One of my favorites (discovered on a trip to southern France a decade ago—I know what you're thinking; I only look this young, and have many talents—are the wines from the banks of the Luberon River. 

These Côtes du Luberon gems are delectable, and there are many more of these "hidden" (only to those who have limited oenological imagination) gems in my homeland, La France.

      [1] I like Liam's opening, and he gave me a box of biscuits to use it for the rest of the week.

[c] Countryside RF

[Originally posted on May 3, 2014]