Stan's favorites headline next wine tasting
By By Stan Torgerson / wine columnist
June 19, 2002
Only a few wines really stand out in a year of tastings. There is no shortage of good wine, but only occasionally do you run into one with so much character you can hardly wait to taste it again.
These are wines that offer both great flavor and great value. I've found a few that qualify and I'm going to to share them with you at our next tasting.
June 27's will be called Stan's Favorites because that's what they are. My favorite red wines of the past year or two, some sampled at our tastings, some at others, some shared with friends from their cellars.
There are no maybe-ifs in this group. Every one is a bona fide blue chip wine that I have personally tasted and personally endorse. This may be the best top-to-bottom tasting we have ever had.
Clarendon Hills Grenache: This was the star of our Australian tasting a year or so ago. It's about $40 a bottle and, at that price, I didn't think it would readily sell but it did because it was wonderful.
It is produced in Australia's Clare Valley, the most northerly vine-growing area in that country. The climate there is hotter and drier than most and the result is a low yield of intensely flavored, big-bodied powerful wines. The distinguished wine critic, Robert Parker, rated it as a 92 which means it is one of the best of the best, just three points shy of being listed as a classic. This is one of the finest wines we have ever served at our tastings.
M. Leroy Bourgogne Rouge: One of the most difficult wines to find is a reasonably priced French red burgundy. There are great wines produced in burgundy but they are very expensive. We discovered this one about a year ago and it has become a staple on our dinner table, not only because it tastes good but because it's priced at under $30. It will be a pleasure to introduce you to this unusual wine. Domaine Leroy makes many different wines but the combination of flavor and value makes this Bourgogne Rouge hard to beat."
Concha y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon: Chile has a reputation for producing good but undistinguished inexpensive wines and, in the main, that is true. But it does offer one truly distinguished world class wine, the Concha y Toro Don Melchor.
This is a stunningly rich wine, complex and age-worthy. I have never read a review of wines from Chile that did not say the Don Melchor was the best wine produced in the country. This is a $35-$40 bottle of wine from a country whose stock in trade is wines for under $10. The Wine Spectator gave the Don Melchor a 90 rating.
Pine Ridge Crimson Creek Napa Valley Merlot: I'm not necessarily a great admirer of Merlot but that's because, in the main, I like my wines a bit more powerful than their Merlot cousins. This wine is an exception. The velvety smoothness that makes Merlot particularly popular with women is found here.
There is a Pine Ridge in the $45-a-bottle price class but I don't think it is worth the extra money when you can get Crimson Creek for $30. If you really like this grape or even if you're "iffy" about it, you'll like the Pine Ridge. I do.
Chateau Canon-Moueix Bordeaux: It would be sheer neglect to hold a tasting of Stan's favorite red wines without including a Bordeaux from France. The problem is that many such wines are grossly overpriced. It is not unusual for a Bordeaux from a good year to be priced $200-$500 when it first comes out and is still too young to be drinkable.
I searched high and low for a Bordeaux that was both tasty and affordable. I finally found one, the Chateau Canon Moueix and from one of the best vintages of the century, 1995. My wine encyclopedia says this about the Canon-Moueix: "It is one of the most refined and profound wines of the appellation." I must agree. Parker gave it an 88 but amazingly enough, it is still in the $30 price range. That is rare in Bordeaux these days.
Quito Do Crasto Reserve: This wine may be my find of the year. Most people think of wines from Portugal as sweet ports, dessert wines to be drunk after meals, not with them.
This wine is an exception. It is a red wine that will rank with the best in its $25-$30 price range smooth, packed with flavor, a wine that will hold its own with red meat as well as cheese. Incidentally, in Portuguese "Quinta" means a wine-producing estate or vineyard.
This one is in the Douro Valley, across the frontier from Spain's finest wine-growing region. The wine is almost burgundian in style and my cellar has never been without it since I tasted my first bottle.
Our door wine will be the Columbia Crest cabernet sauvignon. There is no American winery that consistently produces better wines for the dollar than Columbia Crest from the Pacific Northwest. It will not be up to the other wines to be served but it will be an excellent starter wine.
Even though most of these wines are somewhat pricey, we are still going to hold the line for the tasting at $25. That is only a fraction of their collective value. We'll need your reservation since all wines to be served require us to make a special order. Call 482-0930 to reserve a place.
The tasting is scheduled for June 27 at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at Northwood Country Club and the public is invited. You do not need to be a member of the club to attend. Just make a reservation, then come and try the red wines that are my personal favorites. If you'd like to experience what really good wine has to offer this is your night.
