Some of the wines from our French Laundry Menu
Our wine opinions are those of people who like to drink wine but have no training in it whatsoever. We do not pretend to know the ins and outs of the wine language but just try to describe what we taste!
Would love to hear from you about your experiences with the wines we've posted or others you might recommend.
Brief Livermore Visit
Living only 15 miles from Livermore for the last five years, we've finally made it down to wine country for a short but enjoyable visit. It started off badly, however. We went first to Murrietta's well because we'd had a nice cab merlot blend at a dinner party. The place was crowded around the two bars and it detracted significantly from the experience. A $10 tasting fee gets you about 6 tastes. The tasting room is large, but the arrangement is such that people have to shove at the bar to get a glass and the bar tenders have very little chance to actually talk about the wine. On top of that, I didn't really like anything we tasted, including the wine I had liked at the friends. The experience makes me think that the atmosphere must have detracted from the wine, or when I drank the wine at the friends the atmosphere was such that any wine would have tasted good. In any case, we left without buying anything which is quite unusual for us. (Prices ran from $22-45 for a bottle)
We decided to move off the beaten path and headed toward Fenestra which is much further from the freeway. Here we scored. While Murietta's well is a contemporary, well decorated tasting room, Fenestra is a barn. Tasting is free and all the wines they offer (except for 2-4) are available for tasting. You can taste theo thers if you join the wine club (which we did!). I'll have to say that we liked almost everything we tasted and really liked several of the wines. The women helping behind the table where the wines are displayed were more helpful than informed, but they were friendly and obviously liked what they were doing (unlike the more automatons at Murrietta's well). We started with a variety of whites (priced under $20) and then moved to reds. Our favs included a Barbera, a malbec and a tempranillo and We ended up with a case. All the wines were reasonably priced and ready to drink now--a welcome change from our usual wine purchases that we often feel guilty about opening up just for an evening at home and wonder how long we're supposed to age it.
Our last stop was recommended by Fenestra who sent us to Thomas Coyne known for their Rhone and Bordeau style wines. We hoped to try the Rhones (well, I did). But they were pouring bordeaux. A little frustrating that you can't do both. They pour a very limited selection. But, they were quite informed and recommended several Rhones that we bought without tasting (the Mourvedre we ended up drinking that night was excellent). The Bordeaux styles we tried were also good. And, we ended up chatting for a long time with the guys pouring. They obviously knew and loved their wine. This tasting room is also in a barn and, I imagine, in cold weather is a bit chilly. But we had a beautiful day and enjoyed our tasting.
We drove to downtown Livermore for a final visit to the Coyne room in a little Livermore strip mall like place that houses four or five different wineries. There, they were pouring Rhones. But even there it was a limited selection ($5 fee there). I would have tried and bought more probably if they had been willing to pour. They were friendly here but not as well informed. In the future, I'll try to call ahead to get the Rhone tasting at the barn. But, the problem is having to make multiple trips so we may end up sticking with Fenestra.
Ledson Tasting
The last couple of days (and tonight as well) we've been digging into the Ledson cellar. Tuesday, for our anniversary, we sample the Vin D'Amour. A blend we picked up at Valentines at Ledson 3 or 4 years ago. It mixes Cab and Merlot, I think. But, it kind of tastes zinny in that it's a bit fruit forward but with the structure of the cab. I've tossed the bottle, so I can't look at the wines in it or the year or the alcohol. Last night, we opened Mes Trois Amour (we've got a bit of the "love" thing going here). It's a mix as well but all the bottle says is "red wine", alcohol is 14.5%. It was good but less fruity than the other and a bit more old world style, I would say. Tonight we're opening a Ledson Pinot to go with the fish and figs (weird combo?). I'll post what we think of it.
Oakley Five Reds by Cline
Opened this '06 last night. It's a mixture of Merlot, Barbera, Cab Franc, Syrah and Mourvedre, 13.5% alcohol. It's a very drinkable wine and under $20. It's kind of mix between the rich brightness of the Mourvedre and the seductive intensity of the Barbera. It's truly a California wine (not an Italian or French one) with some ripe berry flavors on the front. Would go well with Italian food. We drank it with spicy Mex and it actually complimented the chipotle flavors. We also had a glass or two on its own. Very drinkable.
Wine Columns Unsatisfying
The last two months (July and August) wine columns in Food and Wine have been disappointing to me. While they often lack any scholarly note, these two were particularly insipid and opinionated (not in that Teague states she didn't like one wine or another, but in that she dismisses wines with little rational). Her column on biodynamics/organic wines lacks much relevant research and just rails at this type of wine (I'm not a biodynamic wine fan either, but I expect something with a bit more support for her opinions. Here's one example: "The definition of sustainable is so elastic as to be practically meaningless. For example, one Champagne cooperative recently announced that its sustainability efforts include making cuts in its paper consumption. But I’m not sure I understand how a shorter memo can mean a more eco-friendly wine." First of all, what is the definition? Are there multiple definitions? And they would be? Does Teague really not understand how reducing paper consumption helps the environment? Or does she just believe that there is no justification for helping the environment unless it directly relates to the wine itself?
In the July issue, Teague provides opinions from sommeliers on which wines "they love to hate." The article adds nothing to my wine understanding (and my wine understanding is pretty poor so it wouldn't take much to add to it). Instead, it is just a list of sommeliers random opinions about different wines. What's the point of this? Is it just humor? Are we to feel worried now that we are asking for a wine from a sommelier who hates it? Because the spectrum of wines hated is so broad (from Cabernet Sauvignon to Amarone, from Alsace wines to Riesling) there aren't any general conclusions we might draw from this essay: most sommeliers don't like A, so that's why it's not found on many wine lists.
Maybe I'm expecting too much from these wine columns. But, I am starting to think they just aren't worth reading (and, I have to say, I'm not laughing when I read these--if humor is the intention). Of course, I admit to major ignorance about wine, so maybe wine experts find these columns illuminating, or at least, funny.
