A sommelier's guide to the world's most distinctively delicious beverage.: May 2012

A note from the author:

2 August 2012: I've signed on to author a blog for wine retailer Winenabber.com. Check it out at nabberjabber.wordpress.com

Closing in on one year blogging with you, and things are astir. I must begin by graciously thanking each of you for allowing my thoughts and reflections on wine to be a small part of your lives. I truly consider your willingness to value and trust my own impressions a humbling privilege.

For those new to my writing (and I'm enormously excited by the sheer quantity of new readers!), I would like to state simply the foundational belief that informs every facet of my professional career: If you choose to approach wine with an open mind it will provide you unique and genuinely rare beauty and enrich your life.

My hope with this blog is that I nudge you further into a life with wine and that the wines I recommend provide you ongoing pleasure. I believe strongly that living with wine is much better than living without it. With that said, when I began my professional career several years ago it was incredible how much I valued what other wine writers had to say about the wines I drank. I couldn't have imagined how quickly I would grow to so deeply cherish and nurture and passionately express my own feelings.

If you've read this far and feel worried that you can't know anything, that your palate lacks sophistication and precision, or that you should have known by now if you had a passion for the juice, let me say this: forget that forever. Trust your palate and your own impressions. Seriously. Lose the "know-nothing" doctrine and suddenly, instantly, new and astonishingly authentic pleasures will appear before you. This is True. Wine has enriched the life of literally every person I know who hasn't arbitrarily pushed back at it.

How can anyone change directions so quickly? My advice is to habitualize clear mindedness and be attentive. I call this "productive concentration." "Productive" because one is intellectually rewarded for patience and focused reflection. If we trust our own impressions and are willing to remain honest with ourselves, and if new experiences force us to rethink or even abandon our previous positions , and if our views and beliefs remain fluid and syncretic and difficult to neatly articulate, then I say all the better. Not to mention how much more interesting.

In a sense, experiencing and enjoying great wine is much easier than this approach may initially appear. After all, drinking wine is simple. Wine enters our glass, our nostrils, our mouth, our belly. And, hopefully, this sequence is remarkably enjoyable and merits much repeating. But inside of each of us is a certain place, some deepest part of our being, a part which no other animal that has ever lived on this planet has possessed, an indescribably deep and meaningful well where our most ineffably beautiful humanity finds repose. And wine goes there, too.

A dear friend posed the question recently, "Can you put into words the experience of tasting great wine?" I thought about the question for a minute, and thought about how my favorite wines have made me feel. I responded, "Experiencing great wine is like scratching some gargantuan itch you never knew you had." Wine expands our consciousness, and, often, dramatically alters our perception of what was already there. Wine asks us to spend time with ourselves, know ourselves, makes us feel a certain way, and gives us something beautiful to reflect on.

I am certain that the best approach to both life and one's craft is to talk to people, listen intently, then reflect and figure out how to open new and better avenues of meaningful communication. There is no objective guide to wine writing. Regardless, one finds one's way. And, I think, better is the way that most often leads oneself and others toward distinctive deliciousness, authentic and meaningful experiences, and a heightened awareness of beauty in our world.

In the end, there are only two questions one needs to entertain in evaluating a particular wine. (The third is actually unessential but, I find, meaningful):

1) Is this wine beautiful?
2) How does this wine make me feel?
3) What is being said and how is it being said?

Our world is crowded and moves quickly. Wine begs for another approach. Wine is inherently needy: it admittedly asks much of us. To appreciate wine, we must choose participation over spectation. The wine lover's life is a journey that slowly and unexpectedly reveals an ever greater awareness of what really speaks to us as a human being. That something is one's own sense of and search for the beautiful that, I sincerely hope, increasingly quenches its thirst through this astonishingly splendid miracle of liquidity.

A special mention of thanks to family, friends and guests for their support and continued interest in the world of wine.
May your exploration of wine be pleasurable and your glass remain (at least) half full,

Jason Jacobeit

Scores - Scores are my subjective analysis of the inherent qualities of a wine with considerations made for vintage-specific typicity, overall balance, and, where applicable, ageability.

As for the numerical scores themselves, use this adumbrated guide as a suitable stand-in for objective precision:

Below 80 Wines are flawed in some respect. Ultimately, these efforts will not merit recommendation.

80-84 A wine without overt technical flaws, but lacking distinctive or exciting aromas and flavors. Modern winemaking allows for an ocean of bulk wine production the results of which often fall within this range.

85-89 Solidly constructed, varietally accurate and most importantly, delicious wine. These are usually terrific table wines and often define the sweet spot for value.

90-94 Engaging and complex, wines in this range are exceptionally balanced. Knockout juice.

95-100 Wines of impeccable harmony, precision and depth. The apotheosis of the art of winemaking, wines here are beautifully crafted, thrilling and emotional.

Pricing - prices provided in reviews are generally release prices unless dramatically altered. When the latter is the case, it will be specified.

Quality/Price Ratio (QPR) - The QPR index will be an excellent way to navigate a large number of reviews quickly and efficiently. That said, I strongly suggest that particular regions and, where further differention is possible, varietal wines and blends be evaluated separately and on their own terms.
For example, many Spanish regions produce remarkably concentrated grapes from old vines that are consistently vinified into tasty, value-priced wines. The QPR range for these wines will, therefore, be relatively high. Contrastingly, Nebbiolo-based wines from Piedmont are more difficult to consistently ripen and vinify, production is more stringently controlled and the wines, generally speaking, more internationally sought. It is therefore nearly impossible to find varietal Nebbiolo, whether Barolo, Barbaresco or declassified crop, that delivers outstanding quality at under $20. The Piedmontese QPR index will thus be lower relative to their previously sketched Spanish counterparts. In the end, initiated readers will make wise consumer choices based on a variety of factors, including an understanding of the broader contours of the wine market.

Monday, May 21, 2012

2010 Hiedler Gruner Veltliner, "Loss," Kamptal, Austria

91 Drink now-2018 $16, QPR index - 5.7

In nearly every vintage Ludwig Hiedler's "Loss" bottling is a standout, though the 2010 is positively dazzling. White flowers, freshly chopped chives, dried apricots, and mango effortlessly flow from this crisp, vigorous white, while a core of bright acids lends crystalline aromatic focus as well as incredible freshness and overall appeal. The palate is even better, revealing ripe tropical fruits detailed with hints of white pepper and cumin. This elegant, streamlined Gruner is delicious and insanely drinkable, which you can do lots of at 11.5% alcohol. Be sure to buy 3 more bottles than you expect you'll need! Certainly, this takes its place among the great white wine values in the world. Bravo!

2008 Hiedler Gruner Veltliner, "Maximum," Kamptal, Austria

92 Drink now-2022 $40, QPR index - 2.3

Hiedler's wines stand out among even their more distinguished peers in that they seemingly always possess an extra dimension of richness and body. A stunning, smiling nose of sorrel and cool herbs, lemon oil with some tropical fruits as well; with air, beeswax and chamomile provide an intriguing counterpoint to the wine's more varietal fruit qualities. What I love most is a certain aromatic elusiveness as certain aromas seem to appear, disappear, then reappear. On the palate, the wine is ripe and honeyed, with lemon and beeswax flavors that melt into white chocolate and thyme on the finish. Drink this monumentally structured, savory, and impeccably balanced wine over the next decade. This is a glorious achievement from Ludwig Hiedler!

2008 Borgogno Barbera d'Asti Superiore, Piedmont, Italy

87 Drink now-2013 $20, QPR index - 4.4

The 2008 Barbera d'Asti Superiore displays a lovely caressing fleshiness in its expression of black raspberries, rust/copper penny and licorice. In the end, this modern-styled red is a bit generic, with oak certainly evident on the palate, yet the style doesn't completely distract one from the wine's pleasant tastiness. Just enough Barbera character and Piedmontese identity seep through to make this a reliable mealtime standby.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne, "Cuvee Ste. Anne," Merfy, Champagne, France

87 Drink now-2013 $40, QPR index - 2.2

This review applies to the late 2011 disgorgement. Alexandre Chartogne's latest NV release leads with aromas of whole wheat and rye bread, white chocolate, and baking spices. A thick, mousey foam frames flavors that are pleasant, but could use greater definition and precision. This strikes me as a wine that belongs at the table and would really be out of its element as a cocktail. Balanced and interesting enough, but short on deliciousness.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

2003 Chateau Haut-Beyzac Grand Vin, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France

85 Drink now-2012 $35, QPR index - 2.4

As with a great many wines of this singular vintage, the window to drink the 2003 Chateau Haut-Beyzac Grand Vin is closing. Also rather typically, the gritty, searing back-palate tannin of the vintage will simply never resolve itself. Better, I think, to enjoy what voluptuous sensuality and inviting radiance of these wines remains. Aromas of scorched earth, creme de cassis, cedar, and a hint of black cherry lead to a palate that shows caramel, toffee, smoke, bell pepper, and somewhat dried out dark fruits. Uncouth, searing tannins and alcoholic heat frame the fleeting finish. This is really a fascinating study, and rather valuable as a palate-training tool; vestiges remain of the precocious seductiveness of the vintage, yet, while potable, this is an ultimately prosaic libation. I still think evanescence is the most salient word to describe this vintage, despite the protestations of self-annointed "modern" or "hedonistic" critics (read: blindly uncritical concentration-obsessed apologists). Would that this "hedonism" were allied to flavors more complete, balanced, delicious, and intellectually substantial!