Wine & Words

Memorial Day Weekend traditionally marks the beginning of summer.  At Wine & Words, we mark it as the beginning of summertime wine drinking.  Thus, we are Featuring four fine wines for those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.
 
Las Brisas (Rueda, Spain) Regular $13.25/ Feature $11.27
This crisp white from the Rueda (rue-AY-duh) region of Spain has been a perennial summertime favorite. We last reviewed it in our “Reconnecting with Old Friends” Feature this past February. It sold well then, even in the midst of our cold weather. Now, with the mercury above 90 all week, we’re really in the mood for some cool “breezes.” And what’s even cooler is that the price is a bit lower than it was in February. So this cool breeze from Spain is a bit of silver lining of the economic storm clouds Europe is going through.
The Rueda DO (Denominación de Origen), established in 1980, exists mostly for the purpose of supporting its indigenous grape, Verdejo (vair-DAY-hoe). The Verdejo grape is said to have originated in North Africa and been brought to the Rueda region in the 11th Century by Mozarabs, Iberian Christians who lived under Moorish rule. For centuries the Verdejo grape was used to make an oxidized sherry type wine, but in the 1980’s sophisticated winemakers started blending it with Sauvignon Blanc and Viura/Macabeo, another Spanish grape, to make bright, crisp whites like this one. Here the combination is 50% Verdejo with 25% each of Sauvignon Blanc and Viura. It gives the wine a nicely balanced combination of luscious, ripe fruit and crisp, steely acidity that make it both a fine accompaniment to seafood and salads and a much appreciated summer quaffer for porch or deck.
 
Pieropan Soave (Classico) 2008 (Veneto, Italy) Regular $21.00/ Feature $17.85
Last September we were going to Feature this wine, after a tasting elicited the comment, “dee-lish.” When the wine arrived at our store, it was the 2007 vintage, and we deemed it not as good as the 2008, so we put the Feature on hold. Well, it’s here...and just in time for pairing with summer fare.
Soave (SUAVE-ay) can be “dee-lish” and it can be thin, dull and sour. Knowing this, wine importer Neil Empson decided to go to the Veneto region in northern Italy, where Soave is produced, and find the highest quality producer who farms south facing hillside vineyards, restricts grape production and makes wine the "old school" Italian way.
He found this in the Pieropan family winery, a tradition that goes back several generations to 1890, when the winery was founded by Leonildo Pieropan. The operation is now run by the founder’s grandson, also called Leonildo, his wife Teresita, and their two sons Andrea and Dario.
The wine is made from 85% Garganega and 15% Trebbiano di Soave that are entirely estate-grown and hand-picked. The use of the latter grape is part of Pieropan's effort to safeguard ancient native Italian varieties that have lately been neglected by most growers.
In the year end issue of Wine Spectator, columnist Matt Kramer named Pieropan Soave 2008 one of his top 5 wines of the year. He calls it "a benchmark bottling...because it upholds a standard that so many other producers in the zone fail to fulfill." He goes on to describe it as "a superb dry white wine, ballerina-light in weight and delivery yet with a tensile flavor strength and mineral dimension that takes you by surprise." In other words, "old school" Soave is really good Soave.
There’s one way the Pieropans are not “old school” - the use of a Stelvin screw-cap closure on their 2008 vintage. Foregoing the traditional cork meant giving up the coveted “Classico” designation on their bottle. Young Andrea explains the issue: “In actual fact, all Pieropan vineyards are in the historic Classico region, so this vintage is as Classico as all our previous years. However, for merely bureaucratic reasons, having decided to use a Stelvin screw cap closure, we cannot state this on the label – that’s because the Classico regulations do not provide for screw cap closures.” Well, why would a “traditonal” winery give up the designation? Again, Andrea: “We believe this Stelvin closure allows us to maintain utmost product freshness and avoid oxidization. It therefore also allows us to make minimal use of sulfites, since the product is so well preserved by the closure itself. This means higher quality and greater consumer health.” The best of the old and the best of the new at a price you can afford. This is one summertime treat you won’t want to miss.
 
Pulenta Estate La Flor Cabernet Sauvignon (Alto Agrelo, Mendoza, Argentina) Regular $19.50/ Feature $16.58
Cabernet Sauvignon has been the signature “big red” grape of both Bordeaux, France and California, USA. We’ve had some good Southern Hemisphere Cabs from Australia and South Africa, but I think the best ones are from both sides of the Andes in South America. On the Chilean side we have the reliably tasty Cousiño-Macul Antiguas Reservas Cab from the Maipo Valley, and on the east side, from Mendoza, Argentina, we have favorites like the easy-drinking Crios Cab of Susana Balbo and the awesome Catena. Now we’re adding a new one we found at the March Trade Show in Raleigh.
Like so many immigrants in the Argentine wine trade, the Pulenta family came from Italy, in 1902, to seek their fortune in “the America.” Those were the great-grandparents of the current generation that runs the winery. Now they work 135 hectares (335 acres) of vines in the prestigious Alto Agrelo region of Lujan de Cuyo, across the Mendoza river from the city of Mendoza. At an elevation of 980 meters (3,200’) and watered by pure run-off from the Andes, the grapes of these vineyards enjoy bright sun and cool nights. This is one of the most famous regions for Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.
As you know, I’m always working on my Spanish, so I approached the Pulenta website in their own language. I liked how their expressed philosophy reads in Spanish: “Hacer un gran vino es un acto de generosidad, de pensar siempre en el otro que lo degustará.”  If you're not working on your Spanish, it’s still very touching in English: “To make a great wine is an act of generosity, always considering the one who will taste it.” When I “degusté” this wine in Raleigh my tasting note at the Trade Show was simply, “very tasty.” I think you’ll agree.
 
Mitolo “The Jester” Shiraz 2007 (McLaren Vale, Australia) Regular $20.12, Feature $17.10
There’s almost nothing better to pair with “something from the barbie,” as the Aussies say, than a premium Australian Shiraz. And McLaren Vale is the place to find a good one.
Australian wine lore has it that the Shiraz grape ( known as Syrah in France) was taken from Persia to France by the Phoenicians. Hence the Aussie preference for “Shiraz,” named for the region in Iran (Persia). But research by scholars Dr.Carole Meridith of the University of California Davis and Jean Michel Boursiquot of the Wine Institute in Montpellier, France have determined that Syrah is indigenous to the Rhone Region of France. Score one for the French. They can claim the original Syrah/Shiraz...but I’m still holding on to my contention that they stole Garnacha from Spain and renamed it “Grenache.” No matter. “Shiraz” has become the term of choice for the style of wine the Australians make with the Syrah grape. It is much riper, with a depth and sweetness to the fruit that is worlds away from the the lean and structured Syrah of the Rhone. And it is just this extra punch that makes a good Shiraz the perfect foil for a rack of ribs slathered in barbecue sauce. If you don’t know premium Shiraz from the land of Oz, now’s your chance.

The professional wine critics are very fond of The Jester--
Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate:
"Smooth-textured, ripe, and intensely flavored, the wine conceals enough structure to evolve for 4-6 years. The finish is lengthy and pure.” 91 Points
Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar:
"Combines the peppery tang of an Old World syrah with the sweetness of South Australian shiraz-a tasty marriage in my book. Finishes with very good cut and length. This is delicious." 91 Points
Wine Enthusiast Magazine:
"A concentrated, slightly smoky, black-olive laced wine. Briny, smoky, savory notes would pair well with herbed leg of lamb. Drink now–2015. " 90 Points
James the Wine Guy: “Dee-lish!”