The UnCorker

Wine on The Web: Wine Podcast Round-up

The UnCorker reviews five top wine-related podcasts!

What better way to learn about wine than with free media that’s accessible while you commute, workout, or jog. Or heck, listen along from your couch with a glass of vino in your hand… it’s all the same to us. iTunes has a plethora of wine related content at varying quality levels. The UnCorker sorts it out for you.

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Weird Wine of the Week- 1999 Movia Puro Rose

This one is chock full of weirdness- is it Italian? Slovenian? The bottle says Collio(a D.O.C. in Friuli Venezia Guilia) though half of Movia’s vineyards are in the Brda province of Slovenia. This part of Europe has a mix of tradition and cultures that rival anywhere else in Europe, but it also has an energy unleashed after decades of centralized communist rule. Slovenia was, after all, part of Communist Yugoslavia, and Movia was one of the few privately owned estates in the whole country.

Movia produces a whole range of cool, funky wines biodynamically, but nothing as weird as the Puro. What, you might ask, the geographic weirdness aside, qualifies this as WWOW- we at The UnCorker can’t think of another bottle of bubbly that hits the market without being disgorged- but the Puro Rose is, and man, that’s weird- strange, unusual, and very difficult. You see the secondary fermentation in the bottle(see glossary- methode champenoise) is started by adding unfermented must from the new harvest along with some indigenous yeast. And why not disgorge at the winery, for instance as every producer of Champagne does? It seems the respectable thing to do, right? At Movia they believe disgorging robs the wine of flavor, and the Puro Rose sure has a bunch of that, and also claim that because it isn’t disgorged, its capacity to age is endless. We at The UnCorker have had some damn fine sparklers we didn’t have to disgorge ourselves, and as for the aging, well, only time will tell. We did like the novelty- one must store the bottle upside down for a day or two, then open it under water; a mass of goo is disgorged, the wine best decanted.

100% pinot nero(noir) spends 4 years in French oak barrique, and a furthur 32 months in bottle before release, it has a pale salmon color and scents of apples, apple cider and raspberries with some grapefruit on the palate- a little toast and yeast but not as much as we would have thought, some savory notes as well; cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg- a fine persistent bead helps give this a long pleasant finish- all pinot but unlike any brut rose we’ve ever had- less then 2000 bottles produced, well worth the search.

Weird Wine of the Week-2002 Triacca San Domenico Sforzato di Valtellina

We at The UnCorker were having a hard time getting our heads around what is and what isn’t weird- after all, Mongols consider fermented mare’s milk an everyday tipple. The Merriam-Webster dictionary only gets us half way there- its definition includes “Magical” ok-good so far, “Unearthly, mysterious” well we’ll go with the latter, but wine is of the earth, literally and figurativly- finally, “Odd, Unusual”- we guess that’s the whole point of the Weird Wine of the Week feature, yet there has to be something else that leads us to include a wine in the ‘Weird’ category. Difficulty in obtaining is part, maybe only being able to understand it in its own proper context is another- perhaps there’s something simply indefinable about a wine that just tells us it belongs; after all,  antonyms include both “usual” and “normal” the opposite of the wines we include. That’s how we feel about the 2002 Triacca San Domenica Sforzato di Valtellina. Magical, hmmm, maybe not, though it does have charm- mysterious, possibly, though it won’t be when we finish discussing it. Odd and unusual certainly seem to work; though like that Mongol and his every day fermented mares milk- depends where you stand.

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Weird Wine of the Week: 2007 St. Laurent Klassisch, Hannes Schuster

The day will come when Austrian or German reds don’t automatically qualify for “weird” status in North America, but country of origin is not the only unusual aspect of this wine.  The varietal, St. Laurent, was once near extinction – a forgotten distant cousin to Pinot Noir – and the wine-making itself here flies boldly in the face of what the North American market supposedly demands from a red wine.  A  first whiff immediately reveals that this bottle is all about the fruit, which is farmer’s market fresh.  When you visit a winery and get a chance to taste the must – when the grapes have been crushed, but are not yet wine – you realize that the tannins at this point in the process are sweet and soft, like white tea.   And when the fruit itself is delicious, you can taste it – full, mouth-filling, sweet, and distinctive.  It is only during vinification, and the oak barrel aging that often follows, that red wine makers strive to tame this vulgar youthfulness in the wines and often end up struggling to keep the distinctiveness of the grapes with which they started.

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2006 Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux- A Vintage Report

Every year, the Chateau owners of Bordeaux travel the United States, touring five or six major cities for the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux, giving a preview of the new vintage to be released. For those in the trade, this is a big event- in New York, it takes place in the Waldorf-Astoria’s Ballroom, a grand room, which gives one the decided sense of being absolutely nowhere and anywhere. The 2005 event was mad, the wine magic; who’d be crazy enough to spit that 2005 Chateau….whichever, the wines were extraordinary- 2006 brought us all back down to earth, the wines from this vintage, being described as “classic” by the Bordelaise. Your UnCorker correspondant was cynical about the description, though reflecting on it now, it seems to be the case. Unlike last years celebration of the 2005 vintage, where the wines were drinking fabulously already, the 2006’s were tannic and closed, barely giving a whisper of what their future holds(with the exception of some of the St. Emilion’s, notably the Chateau Angelus, and some beautiful Blancs from Graves and Pessac-Leognan.

The First Growths; Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Mouton, and Haut-Brion, as well as Yquem and Petrus tend to not go tour as their production is snapped as futures no matter what the vintage is like, nor how astronomical their prices. Lots of other classified Chateau show up, despite their predictable high volume sales, whether they show up or not, certainly Angelus, Canon, the Barton’s , and Pavie could skip the whole dog and pony show and still sell every drop. Bordeaux however, is so much more then a wine region, a wine, or a simple identity- Bordeaux is a marketing behemouth, and a wine region in trouble.

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2000 Bandol Domaine Tempier

So much has been written about Domaine Tempier by Robert Parker, Kermit Lynch, and everybody else with a pen or keyboard that we at The UnCorker thought it would be remiss to not do a bit of the same after having a bottle of their 2000 Bandol with a hanger steak a poivre last night. This is their entry level, a blend from all of their vineyards and a relative bargain at $30 bucks.

Bandol is a tiny AOC on the Provencal Mediterraenean- here, Mouvedre is king, and it produces lush, powerfully long lived wines. This blessed chunk of land is rugged, covered in aromatic herbs, has an abundance of sunshine, and is overrun with tourists from May through September.  The much heralded Domaine Tempier is the producer par excellence, though several other can occasionally give them a run for the money. The Bandol Rose produced here is often considered the finest in France. Grenache and Cinsaut are grown and allowed in the AOC, and really shine in the rose.

The 2000 Bandol from Domaine Tempier starts with whiffs of bacon fat, garrigue and wet earth. some dark berries follow with a palate that mirrors the nose and also has some smoke, tar and a bloody minerality that complemented my red meat so perfectly, I swear I almost cried. Decant Decant Decant

2007 Kerner Abbazia di Novacella-Stiftkellerei Neustift

The very farthest Northern DOC in all of Italy, Valle Isarco is where Abbazia di Novacella or Stiftkelleri Neustift produces white german varietals at around 2000 feet in the foothills of the Dolomites- a rich cultural stew of Germanic, Italian, and Slavic produce an alpine culture with a love of rich foods and crisp white wines- and so what if there’s a tad bit of sweetness? Get over it- the wine is ripe, aromatic, and at 14%abv, there is’nt much in the way of residual sugar. Plus, Kerner’s an unusual grape, originally a German grape,  a cross between (Trollinger)Schiava, an indigenous red grape, and Riesling, and is named after a 19th century writer of drinking songs.

The 2007 Kerner from Abbazia di Novacella is a beaut- all stainless steel vinification, and boy does it show; crispy and clean with a precise aromas of white peaches, grapefruit and flowers. Medium on the palate, it strikes a lovely balance between powerful acidity/minerality and fruit. Bracing and best drunk young- impress your winegeek friends- drink Kerner.

Weird Wine of the Week: Pulenta Estate Cabernet Franc Tardio 2004

Is this Weird Wine? Hmm…. where to start.  First of all, botrytis cinerea, the fungus which in it’s benign form is called the “noble rot” and is responsible for some of the world’s finest sweet wines – is not supposed to make good red wines.  Botrytis feeds on the skins, where red wines get their tannins and flavor, robbing red grapes of their pigment and producing off-odors in the wine during maceration. Sweet cabernet franc is therefore more common in ice-wine country, such as Southern Ontario – where long growing seasons are combined with early freezing conditions in certain years and complex sweet wines can be made without the help of the fungus.  Secondly, at 980 metres above sea level near the city of Mendoza lies the Pulenta Estate, which is fine Argentinian wine country – dry as hell, with thin air, and perfect for ripening red grapes.   However, its not humid enough for botrytis. The fungus just doesn’t show up, preferring damp Burgundy ocean moisture or finicky Bordeaux microclimates to this land of open ranges and pantalooned gauchos.

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Zimberno Aglianico Del Vulture 2005

With only 600,00 occupants, Basilicata is one of Italy’s least populated regions, and probably the least important (viticulturally speaking)- with only one DOC to speak of, and that accounting for less then 2% of production. But what a DOC; Aglianico del Vulture, 1000 acres of volcanic soils on the slopes of the extinct Mount Vulture. Along with the Aglianico’s of Taurasi, these are some of the last grapes to be picked in all of Italy- hot days, cool nights, mineral rich volcanic soils, and low yields of a grape perfectly suited to its enviornment make for a tannic wine with the huge potential of Nebbiolo or Sangiovese for character and ageability. Aglianico can be stubborn, and many producers are adding French oak barriques to their repertoire, to tame and refine it a bit.

This is Michele LaLuce’s “Zimberno,”  a single vineyard Aglianico from young vines. It’s medium bodied, but with dark garnet color, and packed with complex flavors.  Intensly dark juicy briary fruit, plums, and violets- great minerality and acidity with the hallmark aromas of tobacco, cocoa and tar.  Quite dry and austere on the finish – enjoyable now, if a little challenging, and might really sing in another couple of years.

Bouza “Parcela Unica” Tannat A8 – 2007

Uruguay, especially with the tannat based wines for which it is most well known, is evolving as a world class originator of powerhouse reds.  And to our knowledge the source for the most reliably well-crafted of Uruguayan tannat is Bodega Bouza.   Bouza bills themselves as the only ’boutique’ winery in the country.  We’re not sure what that means exactly – but if it means controlled production, incredible attention to detail, and spare-no-expense winemaking then this claim may very well be true.    Quality is a fetish at Bouza – evident in everything they do – from their bespoke monogrammed French Oak barriques to the drip irrigation system installed in their restaurant’s vegetable garden.  The Bouza family made their fortune in the frozen food business, and this winery (purchased in 2001 and completely revamped since)  must be their attempt to purge their souls of all those TV dinners they’ve put into the world.

A lot of Uruguay wineries still use cement fermentation tanks, and Bouza – which also has modern stainless steel and oak fermentation tanks, is no exception.  But the way they have modified their cement tanks reveals a lot about this place – the tanks, which date back long before the family purchased this winery,  have been painstakenly sub-divided, so as to vinify by smaller ‘lot.’   This enables them to individually taste and track each lot of grapes throughout the winemaking process – blending some for their regular tannat, and bottling the best of the lots individually as “Parcela Unica.” The tanks’ beautiful epoxy linings and gleaming steel hardware make you quickly realize that this place may have history – but in Bouza’s case, it’s been retrofitted and tricked out with the latest and greatest technology.  None of this might surprise in California, but this is Uruguay – a laid-back and simple land dominated by agriculture whose only touch of pretension is the visiting hordes of city-slicker Argentinians who flood into the nearby Punta del Este beach resorts.

The A8 lot is from their Las Violetas vineyard, where each berry was hand-sorted and  selected after destemming.   Only 3200 bottles were made.  The wine is their most aged offering, with 18 months on first-use French oak.   Tannat is supposedly to Uruguay as malbec is to Argentina, but this is one of the only 100% tannat wines from Uruguay that can stand up to the very top Argentinian malbecs.  This wine is age-worthy, but enjoyable right now with an extracted boquet of intensely wild briary fruit, dark and full and spicy on the mid-palatte, and a lingering finish with unusually balanced and complete tannins for tannat (the grape’s name means “tannin” after all, in French.)   At around $45, this wine represents value when compared to it’s Argentinian (or certainly European) peers.  For around twice this price, you can buy from the winemakers favorite barrells, which are designated on the label on those particular releases, but we haven’t tried this.  It feels like a gimmick, but may be something a collector would be interested in.  An UnCorker Tip: 2009 is looking to be a fantastic vintage in Uruguay, with a long and dry growing season – in fact, Bouza used irrigation for the first time ever this year… so watch out for these releases a couple of years down the road.