Week of 8/18/24 : Vinography

Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.

This past week included a smattering of things from here and there, as well as a few more top bottlings from Portugal.

According to my philosophy, if you have the option to start with Champagne, you should always do that. So shall we? This week I can recommend the Bollinger Special Cuvee, which I think is an excellent bottle of anytime Champagne that sits nicely in price and refinement between more affordable bottles and those that are really expensive. If you can afford to drink Dom Perignon or Krug Grand Cuvee all the time, great, but if you want a Grand Marque Champagne that is more within reach, Special Cuvee is a good bet. You can find it on sale for as low as $70 or $80 sometimes. That’s not exactly affordable, but given its reliable quality, it’s a lot more within reach than the aforementioned wines that are close to three times the price.

Now I know that most people like to finish with sweet wines, but I’m throwing in a “sticky” here at the start just because I want to make the point that it’s a wine of meditation as much as it’s a wine of dessert. I’m talking about the Vin de Constance from Klein Constantia in South Africa. Most people don’t realize the length of South Africa’s wine history, which stretches back centuries. And during that history no wine has been more celebrated than Vin de Constance. This late-harvested and air-dried Muscat de Frontignan (aka Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) was one of the world’s great luxuries, sought after by the royal and the rich alike for more than two centuries. This wine does the trick that the best sweet wines do, which is to be both rich and effortless to drink at the same time, while offering a technicolor rainbow of flavors on the palate.

I also tasted a number of wines from Virginia this week, including a Petit Manseng from Paradise Springs Winery, which has the interesting distinction of having a winery both in Virginia and in Santa Barbara. The Petit Manseng grape has made something of a name for itself in Virginia, where it deals well with the East Coast humidity and heat, while retaining reasonable acidity. Paradise Springs ages this one in a concrete egg, to excellent stony effect. More from Virginia as we move into the reds.

But before we do that I want to share a couple of wines from Nicolas Jay in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, a joint venture between Jean-Nicolas Méo (of Burgundy’s Domaine Méo-Camuzet) and music entrepreneur Jay Boberg (co-founder of IRS Records). This week I’m recommending their lovely “Affinités” Chardonnay, blended from various parcels around the valley, and its companion, “l’Ensemble” Pinot Noir. Both are refined, graceful, and tasty.

Now to the reds from Virginia. Afton Mountain Vineyards offered their T’19 red blend that walks a lean, fresh line that leaves a savory more European impression on the palate. Michael Shaps Wineworks also has a red blend that is more oak inflected, but also has that medium-bodied character that makes it bright and refreshing on the palate.

Here in California Petit Verdot usually ends up being a pretty intense, heavy wine, but to think that’s just the characteristic of the grape would be a mistake, as the bottling from Virginia’s Bluestone Vineyard demonstrates. While the fruit is bright, the wine doesn’t have the heaviness that its California cousins often demonstrate, and its tannins are very well restrained.

Let’s finish this week with three interesting wines from Portugal.

The Reynolds family emigrated from England to Portugal in 1824 and became successful merchants sending products back to England, including olive oil, cork, and Port wine. They purchased a number of estates, including one in Alentejo where in 1901 they built a winery and began to sell wines in bulk. In 1949 they began bottling their own wines, and in 1954 put the name of their estate, Mouchão on the label. They’ve been making wine ever since. The estate is planted heavily to Alicante Bouschet, and their Tonel 3-4 wine, which is always aged in the big oak barrels (tonels) #3 and #4, may be the only luxury wine in the world that seeks to elevate this particular variety to its pinnacle of expression. The wine is aged in tonel for 4 to 5 years and then in bottle for another 4 to 5 years before release.

Sogrape Vinhos is a global wine company with roots in Portugal, having been founded by Fernando Van Zeller Guedes in 1942. It is perhaps most famous for its invention of the Mateus rosé brand, which took the world by storm in the 1960s. Today, the company owns wineries in major wine regions on every continent. One of those properties is the Quinta do Caêdo in the Douro Valley, where the company produces the wine known as Legado. Made from a “pre-phylloxera” vineyard on steep terraces, this field blend of 25+ grape varieties is one of the company’s flagship wines.

Caves São João was founded by José, Manuel, and Albano Costa in 1920 in the Bairrada region of Portugal. It began producing table wines in the 1930s and became a popular brand, especially in Brazil, which was one of its major export markets. In the early 1970s, the family acquired the Quinta do Poço do Lobo estate, which is where their flagship Reserva blend of Baga, Moreto, and Castelão comes from. Its got a wonderful earthy freshness accentuated by its aging in cement tanks. The bottle I’m recommending is nicely aged at this point, but can still be found relatively easily, and is worth looking for.

Notes on all these wines below.

Tasting Notes

NV Bollinger “Special Cuvee,” Champagne Blend, Champagne, France
Pale gold in the glass, with medium fine bubbles, this wine smells of lemon pith and brioche and sea air. In the mouth, a voluminous mousse delivers lemon and dried orange peel, mixed with a little brioche and marzipan. Nice bright citrusy finish. A blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, 15% Meunier. Score: around 9. Cost: $90. click to buy.

2019 Klein Constantia “Vin de Constance,” Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains, Constantia, Coastal Region, South Africa
Light yellow-gold in the glass, this wine smells of honey and sage with crushed stones and nuts. In the mouth, moderately sweet flavors of honey, orange blossom, and other white flowers, fantastic acidity. Phenomenally long finish that turns slightly saline. Aged for 3 years in large format oak. Score: between 9.5 and 10. Cost: $100. click to buy.

2022 Paradise Springs Petit Manseng, Virginia
Light yellow-gold in the glass, this wine smells of pineapple, guava, and lemon curd. In the mouth, flavors of guava, pineapple, and lemon have a resinous intensity that is matched by the acidic brightness of the wine. Lemon oil and lemon peel linger in the finish. Fermented and aged in a concrete egg. 14.4% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $33. click to buy.

2022 Nicolas Jay “Affinités,” Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon blossom, lemon peel, and orange peel. In the mouth, wonderfully bright flavors of lemon juice, lemon zest, orange peel, and wet pavement have just the faintest hint of toasted nuts and vanilla that lingers in the finish. Fantastic acidity and brightness. Mouthwatering. 13% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $65. click to buy.

2022 Nicolas Jay “l’Ensemble,” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberry and cranberry fruit tinged with dried herbs and earth. In the mouth, powdery, gauzy tannins drape flavors of raspberry, dried herbs, and earth, as hints of citrus peel emerge in the finish. Leans towards the savory, but the bright berries are accentuated by excellent acidity. Native yeast fermentation. Aged for 14 months in 33% new French oak. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $55. click to buy.

2019 Afton Mountain Vineyards “T’19” Red Blend, Monticello, Virginia
Medium to dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry, blueberry, and herbs. In the mouth, black cherry and blueberry mix with earthier notes and a hint of bitter green herbs. Decent acidity. A blend of 42% Merlot, 29% Petit Verdot, and 29% Cabernet Sauvignon. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $55. click to buy.

2020 Michael Shaps Wineworks “En Hommage: L Scott,” Red Blend, Virginia
Medium to dark garnet in the glass with ruby highlights, this wine smells of earth, cherry, and oak. In the mouth, lightly muscular tannins surround a core of bright cherry and sour cherry fruit shot through with the flavors of oak. The tannins slightly dry the mouth, but excellent acidity keeps the saliva flowing. The fruit is restrained, and I wish the oak were too. A blend of 50% Tannat, 20% Merlot, 20% Malbec, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon fermented in steel and aged in 60% new French oak. 13.2% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $58.

2017 Bluestone Vineyard Petit Verdot, Virginia
Very dark ruby in the glass, this wine smells of raisins, cedar, and dark fruits. In the mouth, dark roasted fig, black cherry, and dried cherry flavors have a nice freshness thanks to very good acidity. Powdery tannins are nicely restrained and hang in the background. There’s even a little herbal mintiness in the finish. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $31. click to buy.

2011 Heredade de Mouchão “Tonel 3/4” Tinto, Alentejo, Portugal
Inky garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raisins, cedar, licorice, and herbs. In the mouth, intensely juicy flavors of sour cherry, blackberry, and licorice mix with raisins and dried herbs. Intense and high-octane in quality, but not bitter or hot. Powdery tannins. Hints of citrus peel linger in the finish. Made from primarily Alicante Bouschet. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $260. click to buy.

2016 Sogrape “Legado” Tinto, Douro, Portugal
Medium to dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of dried fennel seeds, dried herbs, dried flowers, bergamot, and black cherry. In the mouth, juicy black cherry and black plum flavors with orange peel, dried herbs, and dried fennel seeds. Excellent acidity, and very fine tannins. Fermented in steel. Aged 24 months in large format old oak barrels. Prephylloxera, terraced vineyard. Made from a pre-phylloxera field blend of more than 20 varieties grown in a terraced vineyard worked by horses. Score: around 9. Cost: $650. click to buy.

1995 Caves Sao Joao “Quinta Poço Lobo Reserva” Tinto, Bairrada, Portugal
Dark ruby in the glass, this wine smells of cedar and dried cherries, cigar box, and herbs. In the mouth, cherry and tobacco leaf flavors mix with dried herbs and earth. Beautiful orange peel acidity with excellent freshness also has a touch of mint mixed with river mud. A blend of 50% Baga, 25% Moreto, and 25% Castelão. Spends 5 years in cement and sees no oak at all. Score: around 9. Cost: $58. click to buy.