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!

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.