huevos con vino

In the eastern Languedoc region of France, Salagou Lake stands out as an incredible natural landmark.  “Le Lac de Salagou,” as the French call it, sits in the northwest portion of the Coteaux du Languedoc AOC, which includes famous wineries such as Domaine d’Aupilhac and Domaine de la Grange des Pères.  The lake has been likened to an alien landscape due to its red soil and mountaineous terrain embedded within the waters of the lake itself.  And within a couple of miles west of this lake, the Mas des Chimères winery produces several different varieties of wine, including blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault, among other varietals.

The Mas des Chimères winery is the property of Guilhem Dardé; more details about this ”vigneron paysan” are available here.  “Mas des Chimères” is French for “House of Chimeras,” which is quite an eloquent name for a winery.  Sure beats the vanity of those wineries that are simply named for their absentee landlord owners, eh?  A chimera is, basically, a lion/goat/serpent beast that may or may not breathe fire, depending on which dead Greek guy you believe.  The idea of translating the chimera concept (an ungainly, lethal blend of animals) into the name of a winery is wonderfully romantic in my opinion, and there is certainly some irony in the name when you think about the delicate process of blending wine to produce a marketable finished product.  Far from simple sustenance, certainly.

For Wine Blogging Wednesday #33, which focuses solely on the wines of Languedoc and nearby Roussillon, I chose a bottle of 2004 Mas des Chimères Coteaux du Languedoc.  This hearty red wine costs about $12-$18 per bottle, depending on where you buy your wine, which means this wine fits the second constraint of WBW #33: find a Languedoc/Roussillon wine that costs $15-$30/bottle.  Most importantly, however, this tasting gave me an excellent opportunity to learn more about this French wine-producing region.  I also had the opportunity to discover how hard it is to find Languedoc wines in Seattle.

I went to only one store, actually, to find a Languedoc or Roussillon wine: European Vine Selections.  This venerable co-op in Seattle stocks several different wines from the Languedoc region.  However, when I arrived and chatted with the man of the house, so to speak, I encountered an unusual problem: Nearly all of the Languedoc wines were below $15/bottle.  I mean, some were as inexpensive as $10/bottle, which seemed a little too cheap for this WBW.  So, I went with one of the wines within the $15-$30 range, the $17 Mas des Chimères.  I also chose this wine because it featured a little less Syrah in the blend compared to the other wines, and there’s nothing like a young Syrah to throttle your taste buds with acid.  I like a good Grenache/Syrah blend, particularly when the blend is tempered with a third or fourth varietal for character.

Speaking of character, the 2004 Coteaux du Languedoc certainly meets that criterion.  This wine is unfined and unfiltered, it clocks in at about 14% alcohol, and it features a blend of 50% Syrah grapes plus 40% Grenache and 10% Carignane.  This wine received an 89-point score from the Wine Spectator; you can view that review and some additional wine details here.  I believe the Coteaux du Languedoc release is the only Mas des Chimères wine currently imported into the US.  In Europe, this wine costs about 8-10 Euros, so the $17 price tag I saw in Seattle seems appropriate.

For my initial tasting, I opened the bottle and poured a substantial glass of this wine before preserving the rest with my WineKeeper ”Keeper.”  I smelled and tasted the wine immediately, and then let the glass rest for some time as I prepared dinner (fusili pasta with freshly-grated Reggiano Parmesan and a freshly-picked butter lettuce salad plus dense, dark honey wheat bread).  The combination was good as I drizzled my pasta with chili-infused olive oil, although I tasted the wine and wrote my notes before I began eating the pasta.

My first sitting with this wine was a good one; here are my notes from my first encounter with the 2004 Mas des Chimères Coteaux du Languedoc:

• Aroma: Lots of nice red berry and blackberry jam aromas plus some rich spices such as clove and nutmeg.  A lovely, mouth-watering bouquet immediately after opening the bottle; the nose stayed consistent for an hour or so after pouring a big glass of this wine, although some vanilla and oak did appear eventually, which only added to the complexity.
• Flavor: Thick and spicy, with some intriguing secondary notes that must come from the Carignane.  The typically meaty, baking spice flavors of a good Syrah/Grenache blend are all here.  Fine acidic content that balances well with mild tannins after some aeration in the glass.
• General impression: A very nice wine, particularly if you can find it for $15/bottle.  Worth the price!

About two weeks later, I finished the bottle with a particularly suitable dinner that I made: pearl barley cooked in a chicken broth and smoked ham hock stock, Korean sesame chicken breast, Kalamata olive bread, and a nice green salad with some Bleu de Basque cheese and lavender balsamic vinegar.  And the wine?  Delicious!  Definitely a lot of rich, ripe black fruit and jammy flavors; you can really sense the Grenache with this combination, but the Syrah provides a delectable black fruit backbone against the acidity of the vibrant red fruit from the Grenache.  A very nice pairing and, once again, a tribute to my WineKeeper “Keeper.” 

My conclusions from this wine are twofold: It is worth the money and is, therefore, a good value; also, I need to seek out more Languedoc wines!  I particularly like this blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Carignane, although the blend content and varietals included change from vintage to vintage.  I initially thought this wine had Cinsault and Mourvedre in it, but my resources tell me otherwise.

So, overall I believe the 2004 Mas des Chimères Coteaux du Languedoc is a good wine, and certainly a good find at $17/bottle.  That’s a bargain for such a lush, drinkable French wine!

Doktor Weingolb has the hosting honor for WBW #33, and this topic is restrictive yet terrific.  For this WBW challenge, as I prefer to call these things, the idea is to find a wine from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France.  The catch is the wine must be between $15-$30.  That’s a tight margin within which we all must work, which might be made tighter for me because in Seattle the French wines tend to cost a bit more than, say, along the East Coast.

So, which wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon region interest me?  Good question.  The Limoux AVA is interesting to me, in part for their “crèmant” wines that possibly predate Champagne.  In particular the 2003 Laurens “Clos de Demoiselles” sparkling wine is very tempting, and at about $20 it makes sense for this challenge.

I’m also interested in the Domaine d’Aupilhac wines too.  This winery in Montpeyroux makes some good wines from what I have heard, so maybe now is a good time to give them a try. 

I may end up simply going to the local wine store and seeing what they have, but I suspect a decent selection of Languedoc wines will be hard to locate in person in the Seattle area.  I’ll give it a try, though!

Just a quick note to say that WBW #32 is today.  Wine Cask has an excellent, thorough write-up for each entry.  My entry is a few days old by now, but you can find it here if you like.

For this Wine Blogging Wednesday, we were presented with a bit of a challenge.  The idea was to taste a so-called “regular” release against a very similar “reserve” release from the same winery.  At first I took this challenge too literally.  I mean, something has to make the “reserve” release different from the “regular” release, right?  I hope so.

I decided that I needed to be in a state of complete relaxation for this challenge.  I wanted to be able to contemplate the “reserve” wine as much as possible.  So I went to a log cabin in the middle of the woods on an island.

I’m not joking.

My wife had a thing to attend on Whidbey Island, so we decided to spend the night on the island since the retreat thing began on Saturday at 11 AM.  The log cabin was quite interesting.  We’re talking “large gaps between the door and the frame that let in animals” interesting, or “actual spider webs that look like Halloween decoration” interesting.  I split some wood for a fire, which we kept going for several hours.  That thing got really hot; at some point after drinking most of the “reserve” wine I ended up getting embers onto the little carpet in front of the fireplace.  Much of that part of the evening is a blur, though.  I do remember brushing my teeth and hitting my head repeatedly as I stood up from peering into the refrigerator.

The log cabin was something of a repository for the types of middle American nostalgia that people love to collect.  I noticed a National Geographic from 1995 sitting on top of a pile of many magazines.  The guest book entries dated back to 1992, and there were other guest books closed and shelved behind the open one.  The wall calendar in the kitchen was for the year 1938.

I’m not joking.

We had a fun time at this place, and it turned out to be exactly the temple of solitude I was looking for.  I wanted to spend some time getting to know the 2003 Domaine Drouhin Laurène Pinot Noir, a wine that was among the first to command my interest in Pinot Noir as a varietal.  The Laurène wines have such character, and they taste quite different from year to year, not to mention over time as they age in the cellar.  I have tried every Laurène release from 1998 to 2002, some of them multiple times and also some of them at different points in their respective lifespans.  All of them have been outstanding.  I cannot point to a specific vintage as the “best” Laurène because each wine is worthwhile in its own right.  I think the 1999 release might be my favorite, but they all taste terrific.

I have also tried the 2001, 2002, and 2003 Willamette Valley releases from Domaine Drouhin.  The “Classique,” as this wine is also known, represents the “regular” wine in this tasting.  The Laurène is the “reserve” wine in this tasting.  The differences between the two wines seem fairly minimal at first.  The Classique clocks in at only 13% alcohol, while the Laurène is 14.1%.  DDO produced 2,200 cases of Laurène in 2003 compared to 8,907 cases of the Classique release (and 196 cases of Louise).  The cost difference is noteworthy: the 2003 Laurène cost $65/bottle, while the latest release of the Classique (2004) costs $45/bottle, which is up from the 2003 vintage.  Actual street prices start at $52-$55 for the 2003 Laurène and $40 for the Classique.  These prices have risen significantly in just the past year; in 2006, I could find bottles of Laurène for under $40.  Now, $43.72 is the best deal I can find on any bottle of Laurène.

In terms of production differences, the grapes for the 2003 Laurène and Classique releases were harvested from the same vineyards at about the same time (as far as I know) and were bottled in January 2005.  Note that I have not confirmed these details with the winery.  Ultimately, the majority of the barrels are designated as “Classique,” with the best of the lot going toward the Laurène and Louise releases.  However, the Laurène bottles are held at the winery for an additional 6 months or more before release compared to the Classique release.  In general, Domaine Drouhin tends to release their wines about a year later than every other Oregon winery I know about, so even the Classique benefits from a bit of cellar time before you even buy a bottle.

And now, to the wine.  First, my notes on the Laurène:

• Aroma: Rich and dense, lots of red fruit and the promise of potent acidity and tannic activity; not floral whatsoever.  A hint of an earthy mushroom bouquet in the background.
• Flavor: A complex combination of sour red cherry, wild strawberry, black plum, a red earthiness, and a woodsy quality that played across the fruit on my palate.  The wine took at least 2 hours to open up; at first, the tannic activity was incredibly strong for a Pinot Noir, particularly a Domaine Drouhin.  But the tannins settled after a couple of hours and became a part of the flavor profile, along with the vibrant acidity and sour cherry essence.  Tremendously long finish, at least 30-40 seconds.
• General impression: This is a demanding wine at first that settles into an incredibly enjoyable, rich, sensual experience.  I think the 2003 Laurène needs at least 2-3 more years in the bottle; the first 2 hours after opening this wine, the flavors and aromas seemed to indicate that this bottle was in a transitional state between fresh release and appropriate aging.  Still a delicious wine right now, though!

Now, my notes on the 2003 Classique that I drank on December 28, 2006:

• Aroma: Somewhat flinty, with deep red fruit and floral essences.
• Flavor: Strong cherry and raspberry flavors with luscious, lip-smacking depth and tannic structure.  A very complete flavor profile, to be sure.
• General impression: Worth every penny!  I think the 2003 is my favorite Classique release yet.

I had the 2003 Classique again on January 13, 2007 in Oregon.  My notes then were simple: “Delicious as always; needed 10-15 minutes of time in the glass to lose its initial spice and open up.”

I think there is a clear difference between the 2003 Classique and the 2003 Laurène.  The Classique is almost immediately accessible, very rewarding to drink upon its release, and simply wonderful overall.  The Laurène is also wonderful, but in a much deeper, more complex way.  The 2003 Laurène clearly needs time to develop in the bottle; I am definitely going to keep my other 2 bottles tucked away for a few years, whereas the 2003 Classique is ready to go today. 

So, what’s the verdict?  I’d say the Laurène is the superior wine, but is it worth $10-$20 more per bottle than the outstanding Classique?  Only your budget can say for certain.

I like the theme much better this time around.  The Wine Cask blog is hosting the April edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW) and I think the topic is terrific!  Here it is: Regular vs. Reserve.

Very interesting.  I love comparative analyses in general, and when it comes to wine I love them even more.  I still need to do my own WineKeeper “Keeper” vs. cork enclosure test, but that will have to wait.  I’m also heading to Finland on April 14, so this WBW deadline of April 11 is perfect.  It looks like I’ll need another WineKeeper Stopper Faucet, though, so I can preserve two bottles at the same time.  How exciting!

Here are the WBW criteria for this “regular” vs. “reserve” challenge:

• Same winery
• Same vineyard (as much as is possible, I assume)
• Same vintage

Another consideration is whether the wines were aged for the same amount of time, and in the same types of barrels with the same levels of toast, etc. (this could be hard to control between a “regular” wine and a “reserve” wine).  But something has to be different between a “regular” wine and a “reserve” wine, right?  Otherwise, why label them differently?  I know, I know, there are marketing considerations here, and price points, and assortment issues, and all the other characteristics that make the retail industry such a cutthroat business.  Still, I don’t know if I can find two identical wines with different labels, but that’s not quite the point here.

So, which wineries interest me in terms of this particular challenge?  That’s a good question as there are plenty of “regular” vs. “reserve” wines out there.

• Alexandria Nicole has a “regular” Destiny Ridge Viognier and a “reserve” edition of the same wine, but the “regular” is sold out.  I’ll see if I can track it down locally, though.
• Lange, with their “regular” and “reserve” Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs.  But they’re sold out and I have already tried at least one of these wines.
• Rex Hill, with their “regular” and “reserve” Pinot Noir selections.
• I’m wondering whether the Domaine Drouhin Willamette Valley and Laurène Pinot Noirs would count, but they’re a little expensive and part of the purpose behind the WBW events is to try something new.
• St. Francis, with their Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel releases; again, though, there’s a problem because the “regular” wines have different vineyard sources, different aging times, different barrel preparations, different harvest times, etc.  So are the “reserve” wines really all the comparable?  They are essentially different wines; they might as well be from different wineries at that point.

In the end, I’ll probably just take my $100 gift certificate to EVS in Seattle and see which wines meet the criteria for this WBW.  Ultimately, I get to decide which wine is “better” based on my own set of criteria.  I think I’d simply use two criteria: Is the wine good for everyday consumption with dinner, and would it fit my limited budget?  Those criteria seem fairly useful to me and my dear readers.