Back Talk Oak Cliff

Wine review: Dufouleur Père & Fils Nuits St. Georges Premier Cru Les Saint Georges 2002

Regular readers know that I don’t put much stock in expensive wine. Even when it’s worthwhile, these wines often fail the 10 times test: Is a typical $100 wine 10 times better than a typical $10 wine?

This red Burgundy (what the French call pinot noir) is from a 400-year French wine family and it does pass the 10 times test. The 2002 vintage, meanwhile, is one of the best in Burgundy in decades. Even better, the wine is only about $30 (available at Goody Goody). This is classic red Burgundy, with zippy tannins and a pleasantly rustic feel and taste. It isn’t especially fruity, so if you drink a lot of New World pinot noir you may be disappointed. Try it anyway.

I drank most of a bottle of this on the porch, enjoying the pleasant fall weather we’ve had lately. The St. Georges will also pair with almost anything you can throw at it for Thanksgiving, and it has lots of aging potential. How often can you say that about a $30 wine?

Wine review: Garnacha de Fuego 2007

I have never been a huge fan of this wine, mostly because it cost as little as $6 and $7 in other parts of the country, but costs $12 and even $15 in this area. Lately, though, the price in Dallas (where it's widely available) seems to have settled closer to $10. That makes this Spanish red a fine bargain.

Garnacha is a grape that produces very fruity wines with little in the way of tannins. This one has a lot of red fruit, but it's not especially heavy, which is a testament to Spanish wine making skills. The wine magazines adore this wine, and I've never quite been able to figure out why. One reason, probably, is that it's imported by Jorge Ordonez, who is one of the best at bringing Spanish wine into the U.S.

Drink this on its own, because it's light enough, or with pizza or similar casual food. It will also be more than adequate with Thanksgiving dinner (and don’t tell anyone, but the non-wine drinkers might even enjoy it chilled).

Technorati Tags: Spanish wine,red wine,garnacha,Jorge Ordonez,Garnacha de Fuego

Wine review: Saint Clair Vicar's Choice Sauvignon Blanc 2006

New Zealand sauvignon blanc is so well made and so inexpensive that some wine drinkers are starting to take it for granted. If it doesn’t cost $10 and taste like $35, they get upset.

That’s their problem. I’m just happy to find wines like the Vicar’s Choice (about $13 at Central Market) –- balanced, with the fruit and acidity playing off each other the way they should, and with more than just the usual New Zealand grapefruit up front. Look for tropical flavors in the middle, and even a bit of a stony finish.

Drink this as an aperitif, or with the usual sauvignon blanc entrees. It wouldn’t be out of place with a cheese course featuring harder, nuttier cheeses, either.

 

Technorati Tags: sauvignon blanc,New Zealand wine,white wine,Saint Clair Vicar's choice

Wine review: Colonia las Liebres 2007

Argentina is best known for malbec, which it has turned into the country’s national grape. Wine drinkers associate malbec with Argentina in the same way that people associate shiraz with Australia. But that doesn’t mean the country’s winemakers don’t produce other interesting wines.

The las Liebres (about $10 at World Market) is made with an Italian variety called bonardo, and by Italians in Argentina, apparently. It’s certainly worth a taste. The wine is fruity and ripe, with lots of blackberry, very little in the way of tannins, and no oak. It’s a heftier, darker version of Beaujolais nouveau. Drink this with any tomato-based Italian dish, grilled sausages or barbecue.

One note about the vintage: The current release is 2007, but there is still some 2006 in the stores. The ‘06 is equally fine.

Bolsa: New website

Since we're in the process of redesigning our website, I'm always interested in other businesses doing the same. I noticed today, actually, that Davis Avenue restaurant Bolsa has donned a new online look. It's very hip, just like the aura the restaurant exudes.

This next one isn't local by any means, but while I'm on the topic, I'm assuming that some of you may be my fellow Slate.com readers, and I knew I was a nerd when, listening to last Friday's political gabfest, I let out an excited gasp as editor David Plotz mentioned the site would be launching a redesign Monday. And they even took the time to give us a tour. How nice.

Wine review: Segura Viudas Brut Rose NV

How much did I like the Segura Viudas? I went back to Central Market and bought a second bottle the next day.

This is classic cheap wine, as well as pretty good bubbly in its own right. It’s $10 and well made, balanced, bone dry and fruity, with an almost pinot noir berry-like flavor. Which is a neat trick, since it doesn’t have any pinot in it.

Segura Viudas is best known for its more expensive sparkler, the bottle with the pewter fittings (which is even more dry than this). It’s part of the Freixenet cava empire, cava being the term for Spanish sparkling wine. I don’t know that I’ve had a Freixenet bubbly that didn’t have something to recommend it. Serve this on its own as a holiday toasting wine, or with seafood (lobster rolls would be terrific) or roast chicken.

On a personal note Mike Friend, one of the finest and most knowledgeable people in the wine business in Dallas, died last week. There is a memorial service at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. I have known Mike for almost as long as I have written about wine; our running gag was my love of cheap wine vs. his appreciation of the expensive stuff. Whenever I called him for a story, he would always apologize for not having a cheap enough wine to recommend. Mike will be missed.

Technorati Tags: sparkling wine,cava,Spanish wine,Segura Viudas,rose

Wine review: Domain du Tariquet Côtes de Gascogne 2007

The French region of Gascony is famous for two things, foie gras and D'Artagnan, the Fourth Musketeer. I submit that a third item should be added –- great, cheap wine.

The Tariquet (available at Central Market for about $10) is just another in a long line of terrific $10 wines from Gascony. These wines are made with grapes that are little known, like ugni blanc, or have bad reputations, like French colombard. But in the hands of a variety of Gascon winemakers, they become clean, crisp and refreshing, with a bit more fruit than other French white wines. The Tariquet has a lemony, floral aroma and a touch of lemon flavor, without any unpleasant minerality. This is cheap wine the way it should be. Serve it chilled on its own, or with seafood or something like chicken Caesar salad.

Wine review: Sunset Winery Moon Glow Merlot 2004

Bruce and Birgit Anderson run Sunset Winery out of what is more or less a house in suburban Fort Worth, so the idea that their 2004 Moon Glow Merlot can win an award seems kind of fantastic. Burleson is not exactly Napa.

Nevertheless, the wine tells the story. The Moon Glow (about $20, available primarily from the winery) won a bronze medal at the prestigious Dallas Morning News competition earlier this year. It’s a warm, rich wine that is isn’t as big or as jammy as most California merlots. Plus, it doesn’t have any of the excess acid that characterizes so many poorly-made Texas merlots and cabernet sauvignons. Pair it with red meat dishes, and especially lamb.

I’m not necessarily sold on merlot as a grape that needs to be grown in Texas. But the Andersons and grower Neal Newsom, who supplied the grapes, show what is possible.

Technorati Tags: Sunset Winery,Texas wine,merlot

François Chandou: On Texas wine

At some point in my interview with François Chandou, we began discussing the quality of various wines, and he and his wife, Anne, touched on the fact that the best wines come from vineyards where the soil is ideal for its grapes. I have heard that this is why some experts are critical of Texas wines, because our state simply doesn't have prime weather conditions for grape growing, so I figured I would ask Chandou what he thought of Texas wines.

He was quick to point out that he isn't well-versed in Texas wines — obviously Bordeaux wines are more Chandou's cup of tea — but did say that: "Texas is a big state, and they surprisingly produce a very wide variety of wines and quality. Some of them merit the attention."

Inwood Estates' wine is among those, Chandou says. Owner Dan Gatlin's vineyard is in Yoakum County, and he barrels and bottles his wines here in Dallas. It is sold at retail locations across the city, as well as available in various restaurants. Another tip: The winery is located just across the Trinity from our neighborhood, and the tasting room is open every Saturday and Sunday from 1-6 p.m.

François Chandou: Domaine de Barbeyrolles

The photo in October's Advocate CliffDweller shows François Chandou holding a crate of Domaine de Barbeyrolles. That's the wine created in the French village of La Fleix, François's hometown one hour east of Bordeaux. The grapes are grown in a Bergerac vineyard that has been in his family for 200 years. Domaine de Barbeyrolles is sold exclusively by his family in France and at La Cave in the United States.

Speaking of home, I also loved the story François told of how he and Anne happened upon their Kessler Park home of 28 years (the couple met, by the way, when Anne began frequenting the La Cave Wine Shop on Henderson in the late '70s):