James Molesworth "Stirring the Lees" My Wine Lexicon

If you subscribe to the Wine Spectator...check out this entry on James Molesworth's blog "Stirring the Lees"   A guy that writes a lot of tasting notes, weighs in on tasting notes, striving to make them of value to the consumer, the inevitability of individual perception and how he hones and reinvigorates his wine vocabulary to keep it fresh, thousandth tasting note after thousandth tasting note.   Love it!  (And don't take the critic's critics too personally Mr. Molesworth....I say if you taste fig, you write Fig!!!

http://www.winespectator.com/blogs/home/id/20

Champagne Jean Vesselle Recoltant Manipulant

Delphine and David Lemaire . Vesselle.

Delphine Vesselle and her husband David Lemaire are proud grower producers, Recoltant Manipulant, in the Grand Cru Champagne Villages of Bouzy.  "We wear a lot of hats" says Delphine.  Winemaker, promoter and vineyardist top the list.  Delphine studied for six years at the  lycée viticole de la Champagne.  After working in the wine trade in South Africa, New Zealand and Japan, Delphine returned to work alongside her father Jean in 1993.  In 1994 she assumed the management responsibilities for her ailing father, who passed away in 1996. 

Bouzy is in the heart of Pinot Noir country and the family's 15 hectares of vineyard holdings consist mainly of two parcels in Bouzy planted to roughly 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay.  They also own vineyards in the outlying areas of Bouzy and the "villages of Loches sur Ource near Riceys, which is well known for its Rosé."  The house makes several beautiful rosé wines, all in the "true" method of Saignée or by allowing the skins to macerate with the juice.  According to Delphine, while the practice is frowned on in much of the rest of France, it is much more common in Champagne to achieve a rosé wine by blending (close to 80% of rosé.)  Consider that in "the other Cote" (the Cotes de Blanc) most of a growers holdings will be planted to Chardonnay, and the custom especially for the large Negociants, is to purchase still red wine from Bouzy and other villages in the Montagne de Reims to make their Rosé wine.  A grower producer may purchase just 5 % of their grapes.  The "risk" of the Saignée method, aside from being labor intensive, is that you will draw tannins from the skins and unwanted bitterness.  The Jean Vesselle Saignée Brut spends an average of 24 to 48 hours in contact with the skins, depending on the vintage and character of the fruit.  They then collect the free run juice.  After a gentle pressing, the free run and press juices are carefully blended to get just the right blend of power, color and pinot character while maintaining delicacy, elegance and the "basket of fruit" that they are looking for.  The Saignée Brut is full bodied and expressive with loads of raspberry and strawberry.  On average, all of the cuvées will spend 30-36 months on the lees.  They use around 10% of reserve wine in their blending.  The current offerings are mostly representative of the wonderful 2009 vintage.    All fruit is hand harvested as is the law for Champagne....didn't know that.  True artisans, these are hand crafted wines, a mere 10,000 cases are produced annually.  By comparison, Moet and Chandon produce 200,000 cases of Dom Perignon alone, and a whopping 2 million cases total production annually!   Cliquot clocks in at just 1 million.  Unlike those large houses, Delphine and David strive to create a unique and individual house style that expresses both their incredible terroir and the spirit and identity of the family marques and history which stretches over three centuries.

Jean Vesselle produces a full range of styles, but consider two special bottlings to be their "children."   One is the Petit Clos.  There are just 20 clos in Champagne and the house's "petit clos" is the tiniest walled vineyard in Champagne.   Their other child, the Oeil de Perdrix is "The soul of the Pinot Noir."   They describe it as vinous or winey...more like a still wine.  A great aperitif or food wine, that Delphine claims is "not a chauvenist."  In the original meaning of the word chavenism, "an extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of any group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards rival groups."  In this regard, Oeil de Perdrix could teach us all a thing or two.  You can, she says, easily transition to a still wine, that it "gives a hand" or passes the baton to the next bottle of white or even red that succeeds it at the table.   

From Harvey Steiman , The Wine Spectator."The Oeil de Perdrix name, which translates to “eye of the partridge,” refers to the wine’s light salmon color, much like that of the bird’s eye. The wine sports Pinot Noir’s strawberry and rhubarb notes, with overtones of wet earth, herbs and toast. But they’re just overtones. It’s the delicate fruit that’s so beguiling. What’s that on the finish? Peach?
The estate, which encompasses two separate parcels in Bouzy, has been in the same family for 300 years. Since 1996, it has been run by Delphine Vesselle, daughter of the man whose name is on the label. I’m not sure I can detect a woman’s touch, but the wine sure has charm. 92 points, non-blind."



                                                          

 To Visit!

                          Champagne Jean Vesselle                    

4, rue Victor Hugo

BP 15

51150 Bouzy

Tel : 03 26 57 01 55

Fax : 03 26 57 06 95

contact@champagnejeanvesselle.fr 

http://www.champagnejeanvesselle.fr

"Winemakers see crisis as glass half full"

Greek winemakers weigh in on (not) returning to the drachma and the debt crisis.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/us-usa-greece-wine-idUSBRE84G1GQ20120517

"Adventures in New Greek Reds" in the New York Times

"MAVROTRAGANO and mandelaria; limnio and vlahiko; and of course, agiorgtiko and xinomavro. I know: it’s all Greek. That’s what is so exciting" Eric Asimov

 

Hooray for native grapes!  Another great look at the diversity and quality of Greek wines on offer today.  This time from Eric Asimov in the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/dining/reviews/new-greek-reds-adventure-wine-review.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

Portugal: the land that the wine buyers forgot

 This is an interesting piece with some perspective on how Portuguese wines are positioned in the UK market.  Sounds a bit like how they are positioned in the US market.  We have our work cut out for us.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/9246075/Portugal-the-land-that-the-wine-buyers-forgot.html

Shining a little sun on Greece...Twenty Three 90+ Scores for Greece from The Wine Advocate

"In sum, find your chair. Find your porch. Get a corkscrew. Sip the summer evening away. If every now and then, while tasting one of those crisp, transparent whites you begin to see deep blue seas, you’re not alone."

—Mark Squires

You can't say Mark Squires is not doing his part to help promote Greek wines.  His feature "Greece on the Cusp of Summer" is chock full of appreciation, knowledge and enthusiasm...not to mention some great recommendations and the all important 90+scores.  23 wines in all with 90+ratings here.  Would you believe me if I told you there was a Greek wine with a 96 from The Advocate?  Well there is.  The 1990 Vinsanto "20 Years Barrel Aged"  Here's just a little bit of the review...I guess there's a lot to say about a 96 point wine!

"The 1990 Vinsanto “20 Years Barrel Aged” (a blend of 80% Assyrtiko, 10% Aidani and 10% Athiri) is the new release, not a library wine. That’s not a typo. This winery is famed for its fanaticism with its late released, long-aged Vinsanto. If you are not familiar with the style, note that it is naturally sweet and unfortified. It comes in at 13.5% alcohol. With 20 years in barrel and 1 in bottle (their old method was 17 in barrel and 3 in bottle) and grapes sun dried for 12-14 days instead of just 8-10, it is a far, far different wine than the “4 year old” reviewed this issue: far darker in color, with more prominent acidity, a bigger rush of intense aromatics and a more intense grip on the finish, with a touch of tannin. There is a richer, darker flavor, more toffee and dark roast coffee than caramel. The laser beam bursts of acidity common to fine Vinsanto enliven this oldie perfectly, creating an invigorating counterpart to the complex aromatics, particularly after it gets a little air. Luscious, silky and intense, it is simply delicious."

The whites are the focus with Assyrtico from Santorini in the lead, but the reds are slowly winning over as well.  I particularly like the review and description of the Kir Yianni Ramnista here...and someone finally spelled Dionysos correctly!  The Ramnista is a single vineyard or "cru" from Naoussa that is really on a roll in our market right now-especially in restaurants.   I too find myself qualifying at tastings that this is not for fans of international style wines-but I think maybe I shouldn't worry as it has been knocking a lot of socks off despite it's "stern and steely" character.  And of course I love comparisons of Xinomavro with Nebbiolo (a little vindication now and then is always appreciated.)

"The 2008 Ramnista, a Xinomavro, is traditional and chock full of steel, tannin and acidity... It is a good example of the type of Xinomavro that I like to compare to old style Nebbiolo. It certainly requires the right type of food matchup. Indeed, I saved a bit of this as an experiment for a nice red sauce, pasta and meatballs dish – suddenly, it sang, the acidity and tannins absorbed or complemented...this seems to say “take it or leave it.” You decide. If it is in your style, it exceeds expectations in its price category and it should well reward cellaring, becoming more complex and coming together better over the next decade or so. Theoretically approachable, depending on your tolerance for tannins and rusticity, this will most certainly be better around 2015 or so. If you are a modern style wine drinker, with everything soft, sweet, fruity and approachable on release, this isn’t going to be your style of wine. Otherwise, at the anticipated shelf price, this stern and steely wine should be a nice, ageworthy bargain. Drink 2014-2027."  90 Points

Importers: VOS Selections, New York, N.Y.; tel. (212) 967-6948; Dionysos Imports, Manassas, Va; tel. (703) 392-7073.

Boutari Winery also recently garnered a couple of 90+ reviews, with a 91 point rating for it's 2008 Boutari Naoussa. "...Its hallmark is always refinement and balance. It is never a rustic Xinomavro, but at the same time it still preserves its essence and characteristics and expresses its terroir well as time goes on. Caressing in texture, yet increasingly powerful as it fleshes out in the glass to show good depth, it lingers on the palate and grips it. ...It drank beautifully the next day, showing that promised purity and transparency, seeming clean and unadorned. If you like Xinomavro—or Barbaresco--this is a fine overachiever that I liked more and more as it aired out. It is well worth seeking out. While approachable with some air, it is pretty tight. Drink 2013-2025" 

I predict there are some very happy winemakers in Greece right now.  It's nice someone is shining a little sun on them for a change.

Vinho Verde and UTZ Crab Chips!

My favorite little Vinho Verde, Santola, with the Sand crab on the label is in the Washington Post today.  It certainly does go with crab.  We have even featured it alongside those awesome UTZ crab chips that are seasoned with Old Bay...Big Hit!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/bargain-bottles/2012/02/29/gIQAzfA4tT_story_1.html

Crab Chips and Vinho Verde, Yum!