Domaine Vindemio - 2009 "Regain" syrah / grenache [France]

I read an article earlier this year in the Chicago Tribune by food and wine writer Michael Austin (who writes the fun "Pour Man" column) encouraging readers to enjoy, and not hoard, some of their prized wine. Conventional wisdom has that a wine connoisseur should collect as many fancy bottles as possible, guard them jealously, and only crack them open for monumentous occasions. I myself have been guilty of doing this; I think my wine collection hovers somewhere around 35 bottles and I'm always promising myself I'll save the nice ones for some unknown, future occasion. But as Austin notes, waiting too long might cause a great wine to get stale or past its prime.

So in the spirit of enjoying things sooner rather than later, here's one of the wines that have been part of my collection the longest - a 2009 red blend by Domaine Vindemio.

Produced in the Ventoux AOC of the Rhone wine region, this blend of 70% grenache and 30% syrah is fermented entirely in stainless steel vats and cement vessels. Concrete or cement tanks are nothing new in winemaking; they've been used for centuries as "neutral vessels": a way to age wine without imparting the kinds of flavors that wood barrels or even stainless steel does. They can also be custom-made quite thick, which is good for temperature control.

I picked this bottle up from Charles Fine Wines back in, I want to say, 2010. The buzz on the wine forums is that this wine is particularly rich and intense; makes sense for syrah and grenache. It was billed as a good candidate for aging. I've reviewed these grapes often so not going to discuss them extensively; however I have never cellared them (or really anything else) this long so let's see how eight years of careful aging has made its mark.

Interesting - this wine is surprisingly dry and has a mostly cherry and grape skin flavor - not super jammy or bright at all. I will say that the wine is quite balanced - I like that the cherry is not super strong but neither is the dryness. It finishes long, with lots of flavor left in the mouth after swallowing.

In my opinion, this wine is perhaps a bit too aged. It's still tasty, no question, but given the grape blends, I was expecting something juicier and jammier. If I had to do a blind taste test, I'd have said this was a Cabernet or a nice Zinfandel - not syrah and grenache. Without a fresh "reference bottle" it's impossible to say. So let this be a lesson - don't wait too long to drink your wine!

Fremont Brewing Co. - "Instant Karma" India pale ale

Inspired by the jovial and super friendly Pacific Northwest beer culture, today's blog post will focus on a special release IPA from Fremont Brewing Co. This 6.50% ABV india pale ale is part of the Bottleshop Collaboration, a series of beers inspired by a group of eleven Seattle-area beer stores - including the great Edison City Alehouse in South Tacoma, WA (which is well worth the visit). This beer came to me through Edison City's proprietor, Robby. Thanks, dude!

The beer itself is a mixmaster blend of Citra, Mosaic, el Dorado, Huell Melon, and Chinook hops; it weighs in at a healthy 50 IBUs. The beer was released on June 30th, 2017, and like many West Coast fresh beers, are stated to be best within three months. I had this in early July, so definitely within the realm of freshness.

Not much foam, even when poured directly in. It sort of looks like pineapple juice, and generates a nice citrus nose.

As expected, this beer has pleasant citrus flavors and a tang of fruity hops. There's a peculiar little twinge of brassy bitterness towards the end, like a hint of grapefruit pulp, but mostly just citrus with a good showing of hoppy flavors. The aftertaste is pulpy, like orange juice. 

What's most interesting about this is the texture - I expected it to be thick and foamy, like a fresh orange juice (or like some of the aforementioned Treehouse beers) but it's almost the opposite - soft, light, thin, and a bit fizzy. The flavors aren't in-your-face strong but soft and (almost) attenuated. It's different than many beers of this type because it seems almost counter-intuitive...for fresh-hop, tropical IPAs I expect a fruit-forward and thick, juicy beer.

The good news is, while this beer is not anything earth-shattering or new, it's still a tasty fresh IPA and perhaps good for those who aren't total hop-lovers. It's also not overpowering or aggressive, so while some may think it's too thin, it may be perfect for those looking for a softer, fruity IPA.

Maison Bertrand Ambroise - 2014 "Lettre d'Eloise" chardonnay [France]

On Thursday, the family and I hosted two special guests at our beach house - Don Reid and Irving Hopkins, longtime friends and proprietors of the historic Butternut Farm B&B in Glastonbury. You may recall we entertained them in 2014 with a four-course meal. While dinner is in the works - a dish of rosemary pork, pan-fried in lemon juice and butter - it simply won't do on a hot beach afternoon to be without a bottle of cool, delicious white wine.

This afternoon's libation is a 2014 vintage Chardonnay called "Lettre d'Eloise" from famed French wine house Maison Bertrand Ambroise. 

In operation since the 1700s, Bertrand Ambroise is based in the commune of Premeaux-Prissey, in the department of Cote-d'Or, located south of Dijon in the French province of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. This wine is Chardonnay, as mentioned, aged for ten months in a series of barrels that are one, two, and three years old.  Due to the vinting location, a wine such as this can be specifically known as "white Burgundy."

Burgundy is one of those words that you probably see quite often but may not know the specific meaning. It can refer to the region of France formerly known as Burgundy (or Bourgogne; and in 2016, an administrative merger combined the regions of Franche-Comté and Bourgogne). More relevant to today's wine: it is also a term used to describe any wine produced in this region. Wine that is considered "Burgundy" is much like any wine considered "Chianti" or "Champagne" - it's not a specific grape, but a regional classification. While this classification grants a wine a particular prestige, it also requires it to be made under whatever stringent controls that classification requires - which can be quite rigorous.

The "Lettre d'Eloise" is It's quite pale, and yellowish when candled in the light.

Clean and crisp, this wine is actually quite subtle and has quite a delicate flavor that's hard to describe - perhaps a bit of pear, citrus, and green grape skin. It's a bit thinner than I expected. My brother Dan detected more oak than I did; we both agreed the tannic bitterness was low. But I did really like how polished it was - nice blend of flavors with nothing out of place. Wines like this that have matured and lost any astringent qualities are said to be "round", which is a desirable trait. Overall, a soft and refreshing wine without strong flavor yet a nice pairing with some pate and mild cheeses.

I was able to purchase this on special order from Charles Fine Wines in Glastonbury, CT, for $20, but it's available elsewhere. Charles notes that Burgundy has experienced some bad weather in previous growing seasons (including some bad hailstorms) so wines from this region and vintage are in limited supply. If you're a fan of crisp, soft white wines, be on the lookout for Burgundian whites - they're worth a try!

Served with four kinds of cheese (aged gouda, Cypress Grove's Humboldt Fog, St. Agur, and local sheepsmilk feta) paired with  baguette rounds and Irving's braunschweiger pate.

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. - 2017 "Helldorado" imperial blonde ale

Firestone Walker is the king of specialty beers. You may recall I've enjoyed some of their rare releases in the past (such as the XVIII Anniversary Ale, as well as the "Sucaba" at Monk's Cafe during the 2016 Democratic National Convention week in Philadelphia, not posted unfortunately.)

I came across today's beer at Putnam Super Liquors in East Hartford, CT, on my way to my summer retreat in Westbrook. It's Firestone Walker's "Helldorado" - a 12.80% ABV imperial blonde ale, also knows as a blonde barleywine.

This is an interesting - barleywines are usually dark, sweet, malt-bombs with strong boozy flavors and heavy texture, and a so-called "blond barleywine" would suggest that much of those descriptors might not apply. The back of the box also uses the term "imperial blonde ale", which is another head-scratcher: are these two terms interchangeable?

The box lists all sorts of beer metrics, including the malt bill, IBUs (a quite-low 24), original gravity (24.3 degrees Plato), final gravity (1.87 degrees Plato), and a hefty 12.80% ABV. Let's unpack the concept of "original gravity" and final gravity" - these are brewer's terms that refer to the ingredients in beer as they relate to fermentation - specifically, what volume of the ingredients can ferment and what can't. According to Beer and Brewing Magazine, degrees Plato is a scale "used to quantify the concentration of extract (mainly sugars derived from malt but including other soluble material in the wort.)" Original gravity is the gravity of the beer before fermentation, and final gravity is after fermentation. Although it's mostly used on the back-end of the brewing process, you will occasionally find these metrics displayed on beer labels or boxes. This is used to show off what kind of process is used and how heavy a beer might be - and how boozy!

The beer pours a golden honey color, quite surprising for something billed as a barleywine. It generates no head except for a thin white ring around the perimeter of the glass.

There's a slight aroma of sweet malts and alcohol, but not much else. Look at that color!

This is quite remarkable - it's unusually soft, presenting light floral notes and a main boozy flavor of honey, almost butterscotch. There's an element of oak reminiscent of a white wine, but nothing too strong. The finish is soft and clean, presenting some continued flavors of honey and flowers.

I'm really quite impressed with the texture of this beer - it's so soft and clean and easy-drinking, especially for something the strength of wine. Think of an amped-up, really excellent mead. It's similar to a barleywine in terms of strength, but in terms of taste and flavor profile, I think the term "imperial blonde ale" is a better descriptor than "blonde barleywine". The malt flavors are low, it's not dark and sweet, and it's much lighter in terms of mouthfeel than any barleywine you'll find.

As a one-time release with only 7000 cases produced, it's rather expensive: $17.99 for a 12oz bottle (surpassing Dogfish Head's "120 Minute IPA" and Founders' "Kentucky Breakfast Stout".) If you're into mead, or honey flavors in general, give the "Helldorado" a shot. The back of the box suggests this is a good candidate for cellaring, although frankly it's really tasty to drink fresh!

Stone Brewing Co. - "Drink After 07.04.16" India Pale Ale

It's been a while since I reviewed a beer by Stone Brewing Co. (well, since March of this year at least) and I figured that a beach vacation is the perfect time to dig this out of the cellar. It's Stone's "Drink After 07.04.16", a 7.00% IPA made with Brettanomyces yeast.

Stone's made it a habit of releasing various "Drink Before..." such-and-such a date, mostly fresh-hop IPAs without preservatives, meant to be enjoyed immediately; so you can imagine my surprise when I saw this "Enjoy After" bottle on the shelf during the summer of 2015. I grabbed two with the intent on seeing how they cellared after a year and two. Well, with all the political convention hubbub last year, I forgot to try it. So here were are - the first sampling.

I took care not to seriously disturb the sediment and yeast, and although it wasn't significantly jostled, the 750mL bottle's cork opens with a tremendous POP and spewed a volcanic eruption of foamy beer on the table. Luckily it wasn't too much wasted.

It produces some of the thickest foam I've seen in a beer - I could practically float the bottlecap on that! The honey-colored beer projects a strong aroma of dank yeast, but not much else.

Wow, this is quite unlike a normal IPA. You're probably imagining something super sharp, but it's actually quite tangy - I'd compare it to a brut Champagne: yeasty,  a bit acidic, with a healthy dose of brassy bitterness. The Brett yeast comes through strongly, with lots of funky spice flavors. There's a strong, lingering aftertaste of yeast and salt and some spice flavors. I'm most interested in the dank funky flavors that the Brett yeast produces; and will also report back next year when I have the second. But my hunch is that this beer will only get more tangy and brassy, provided the yeast keeps doing its thing inside the bottle.

To be honest, I should have had one last year and one this year just to see how it was. But the bottle assures me that it can be aged for some time, at the minimum of one year, so I'm not worried that this is gone south or anything. The "Enjoy After" series is released a couple times a year, so be sure to pick this one up if you like Champagne or funky IPAs. I'm not sure if you can find this particular vintage, but research shows that Stone releases stuff like this every so often, so you'll have a chance to pick this up in the future. Prepare to spend around $16 on the bottle.

I.L. Ruffino - 1970 chianti [Italy]

Now, you may be thinking, "awesome, this wine blog guy scored some amazing old wine and he's going to serve with it with a tasty fantastic meal for which he slaved for hours in a hot kitchen, uphill both ways, in the snow, etc." Well, I've got good news and bad news. I did score some old wine, that's for sure - I was able to get my hands on a forty-seven year-old bottle of Chianti, grape blend unknown, produced in 1970 by the I.L. Ruffino concern out of Pontassieve in the Florence province of Tuscany. Its bulbous bottle comes in the iconic wicker basket, called fiaschi, and looks like many other bottles of Chianti produced to this day.

That's the good news. The bad news is, not all old wine is good wine. Not all grapes or vintages are suitable for aging, and just like price is not a good indicator of quality, age is not always suggestive of how great a wine is. Care must be taken when aging wine, as factors such as vintage, grape, environment, light, heat, and proper storage all contribute.

According to my father, my late grandmother bought this bottle because she liked the look of it - not because it was a candidate for spectacular aging. Now, under the right circumstances, i.e. a cool and dusty Italian cantina, certain kinds of Chianti can last for quite some time, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility.  But that assumes both the wine was a good candidate for aging, and that it was kept in proper conditions. I doubt either is the case here. One look at the wine in the light says all I need to know about that - look at that coloring. Yuck.

Nope.

There's one other, more major problem - and probably the most concerning - there seems to be a tiny leak in the cork. Corks do leak from time to time, and while it's not always fatal, it's never good. A leaky cork means that air and microbes can get into the wine and mess with it (technical term.) Any air leakage allows for the wine to evaporate, as well - in this case, it looks like about 20% of the wine's total volume is missing. As I press the top of the waxlike cap with my finger, a little bit of liquid seeps out. Hopes are not high.

Before we can try it, it must first be decanted. This means we have to gently pour it through a filter - today we're using a paper coffee filter, although I would have preferred a gold mesh screen. This is to filter out the sediment and particles. Unlike yeasty Belgian beers, I am very hesitant to eat this sediment.

So here's the wine after it's been decanted. Notice the color - a light hay color, like a whiskey. There's no aroma.

Now the moment of truth - I'm going to try it. Watching this spectacle is my brother Dan, mother Kathy, and aunt Jayne - yet I am the only one foolhardy enough to try it. Bottoms up!

You know what - it's not terrible. Obviously it's not anything close to what it was, nor is it appetizing, but rather than some disgusting brackish liquid, it's just...bland. It reminds me a lot of cheap cream sherry - oxidized, flat, and flavorless. There's a tiny bit of vinegar notes in there, but nothing like the industrial cleaning solvent I was expecting. My brother did end up having some, and remarked that the texture reminded him of an old port.

I had a few more sips and tossed it, and then poured the rest of the wine out into my glass unfiltered. Here's the junk at the bottom:

Gross.

This should be a lesson to all you wine lovers out there to take care of your wine. If you buy a bottle of wine, be very careful to store it properly. Keep it out of direct light, away from a heat source, and on its side. Consult an expert if you're not sure. If you bought a bottle in the store, and you're not sure if you should age it or not, it's better to drink early than to wait.