Thief Wine Blog

Thief Winos are now 5 and 0 – the only undefeated team in the Milwaukee Wiffleball League – with a 20-3 thumping of the Holey Balls last night. New pickups Matt & Jamie added some depth and pop, and overall a balanced offensive explosion.  I think one reason for our success is that we drink better beer. While other more youthful teams are swilling the Pabst Blue Ribbon, our beverage of choice last night was Bell’s Oberon Ale and Lakefront Riverwest Stein.

Belated comments on the Orin Swift tasting of a couple weeks back:

We had a great turnout, which I expected given the popularity of the brand – The Prisoner has a cult following, and Papillon’s not far behind. For those not familiar with Orin Swift, it’s a Napa Valley-based winery founded and run by Dave Phinney (there is no Orin Swift; the name comes from his father’s middle name and mother’s maiden name). It’s a relatively new winery (started in 2000) but quickly achieved recognition with The Prisoner, a full-throttle Zin-based blend.

First wine was the Veladora Sauvignon Blanc, a single-vineyard wine from the Tofanelli Vineyard just south of Napa. Nice thing about this wine is that all of the profits go toward migrant worker health care, so you can feel virtuous while you enjoy it. It’s a polarizing wine; some people love it and others don’t, but very few are ambivalent. Fairly lavishly oaked and with some lees contact, so it’s a much creamier, richer, and oakier Sauv. Blanc than most people are used to. It’s a bit over the top for my personal preference, but people who like oaky, buttery California Chards really enjoy it. Very well made for the style.

Next up was the 2007 Saldo, a Zinfandel sourced from top regions throughout California (primarily Sonoma, but also Napa, Mendocino, Amador, and Contra Costa counties), using fruit from more than 20 vineyards. This is the first vintage of this wine, and it’s gotten a great response. Like all Orin Swift wines, it’s big (15.5% alcohol) and lush, but with great Zin character. It was a hit; we sold a bunch of this wine. Only a few bottles left, and then it’s gone until the next vintage.

The 2007 Prisoner was the third wine; many attendees were already familiar with it since they’ve been buying it from me faithfully, but for those that weren’t it was a nice chance to see what the hype is about.  The blend on this one is 50% Zinfandel; 24% Cabernet Sauvignon; 14% Syrah; 9% Petite Sirah; 2% Charbono; and 1% Grenache – definitely a kitchen sink wine! More tannins than the Saldo thanks to the Cab and Syrah, but still with that ripe, juicy red and black berry fruit. I ran both this and the Papillon through the Vinturi aerator to open them up a bit, which really helps soften up the mouthfeel, but this will easily benefit from a couple of years in the cellar. I can see why this gets the high scores; it’s very well made for the style, with great intensity, concentration and balance. (Personally, though, give me a nice elegant Pinot Noir any day).

Finally was the Papillon, a Bordeax blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon; 27% Merlot; 4% Petite Verdot; 2% Malbec; 2% Cabernet Franc. Like all of his wines, the label is fantastic; the label artwork is a photo taken by photographer Greg Gorman, and the hands are vineyard owner Vince Tofanelli’s. This is my favorite out of the four wines – it’s big, yes, but had more structure and finesse than the previous wines. (Plus, I just like Cab better than Zin). Another candidate for medium-term cellaring, with a fair amount of tannins and tight fruit. It’s all there, though, and is already showing great complexity and layers of flavor.

Belated notes from the June 23 tasting “Beyond Nebbiolo” – Exploring the other grapes of Piedmont. Piedmont, in northwest Italy, is known mainly for its majestic Barolos and Barbarescos, but it’s got several other noteworthy indigenous grapes as well; for this tasting I wanted to explore those.

The first wine was Araldica’s 2007 “La Luciana” Gavi. From a single vineyard and 100% Cortese, this wine was showing really well. I tasted it when it was first released several months ago and it was quite tight, but really expressed itself nicely for this tasting. Cortese to me always has a savory characteristic, with notes of dried herbs and minerals. The Araldica showed that, along with fairly juicy green fruit and good acidity. A nice example of Gavi and a really enjoyable wine – I’ll put this on by the glass at some point.

The next wine was supposed to be Bruno Giacosa’s Arneis, which is a stunning example of the delicate, floral Arneis grape (think Torrontes without the soapiness and more minerality). The distributor was out of stock, though (more on that below) and the last-minute replacement I ordered the Fratelli Barale, was supposed to be the ‘07 vintage but the ‘06 got shipped. It was DOA – completely aldehydic and over the hill, so I scrapped that and substituted another Dolcetto.

Paitin’s 2007 “Sori Paitin” Dolcetto d’Alba was richer than most Dolcettos, which are known for their tart cherry and cranberry flavors; this showed a roundness you don’t often see while still being true to type. This wine is at its peak now, showing good secondary flavors and integrated tannins.

The next wine was Bruno Giacosa’s 2008 Dolcetto d’Alba, the last-minute substitution. Why did I have this wine? Well, when I ordered the Arneis, which was theoretically in stock, the warehouse guys for the distributor couldn’t find that wine so they shipped me the Dolcetto instead. Dolcetto, Arneis – of course they’re the same thing!?! I had them set aside to be returned, but they came in handy after all. The Giacosa’s a little more expensive than the Paitin, so it made a good quality comparison. The wine was incredibly juicy and grapey, almost like a good cru Beaujolais. The Paitin is drinking better now, but if you looked beyond the grapiness and focused on the structure and concentration of the wine, you’d see that this has all of the elements and in a year or so will be exceptional; it’s still very young. I ordered more of this and it’s now on the shelves.

On to Barbera; again doing a quality comparison – the Ca del Sarto 2006 Barbera d’Alba is a good everyday Barbera for $10.95 – bright red cherry fruit, good acidity, easy-drinking, not incredibly complex. Exactly what it should be. The Luciano  Sandrone 2005 Barbera d’Alba ($29.95), on the other shows how good Barbera can be. A serious wine, with significantly more tannins, fruit concentration, and structure. Darker fruit, with some chocolate and spicy oak flavors; great balance, long finish.

I was bummed about not having an Arneis, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind and it was funt to taste two vastly different Dolcettos.

• Araldica 2007 “La Luciana” Gavi
• Fratelli Barale 2007 Arneis, Roero
• Paitin 2007 “Sori’ Paitin” Dolcetto d’Alba
• Ca’ del Sarto 2006 Barbera d’Alba
• Luciano Sandrone 2005 Barbera d’Alba

The rosé tasting that we did in May happened to fall on Mother’s Day, so of course I needed to a Father’s Day tasting to not discriminate against the dads, and what better theme than Great Wines for Grilling?!? (plus, we’re always looking for excuses to open up some fun bottles.) All red of course, this being a manly kind of a tasting.

First wine was 2005 Domaine des Rouet Chinon, a lovely lighter Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley. I picked this wine because not everything on the grill is a big hunk of red meat, and the Chinon is light enough to work well with pork, chicken or grilled veggies. Plus it’s low in alcohol (12.5%) and great with a bit of a chill on it, so perfect for a hot summer day. The wine showed well, with classic graphite / violet / raspberry flavors and nice acidity. A good way to start.

Next was Laurel Glen’s 2006 “Reds”, a Zin / Carignane / Petite Sirah blend from Lodi California. Full-bodied and chewy, with a lot of structure and dark brambly fruit. A lot of wine for under $10.

Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz / Cabernet from Australia’s Limestone Coast region (a bit south of Barossa Valley in South Australia; slightly cooler due to its proximity to the coast) was up third. I picked this wine because it tastes like it’s got a touch of residual sugar in it – that slight sweetness gives it a really lush mouthfeel and I think would pick up well on the sweetness found in most barbecue sauces. Very tasty wine, with lots of dark berry fruit, a hint of chocolate, nice tannins from the Cabernet, and a long smooth finish.

Going in a totally different direction, the Novy Cellars 2006 Sonoma County Syrah was smoky, spicy, and meaty, very much like a Northern Rhone but with more fruit. Loads of black pepper, and the smokiness makes it an ideal match for the grill. Joan, a customer and friend who was at the tasting, bought a burger from Rupena’s to have with the different wines, and this Syrah was the perfect pairing for her.

Saving the best for last, I opened up the 2005 Mas d’en Compte Priorat. We’ve had this wine at tastings before but I absolutely love it and thought it’d be a nice father’s day treat. Still a very young wine, so I ran it through the Vinturi aerator and decanted it for a couple of hours before the tasting. A blend of 50% old-vine Grenache, 40% old-vine Carignane, and 10% Cabernet, this wine is stunning – layers and layers of flavors, with incredible complexity and depth. Smooth yet structured, with an incredible finish. Everyone loved it; a great way to end.

A few weeks ago we received a phone call out of the blue from a local freelance writer, saying that Saveur magazine had selected us as one of the top 10 wine shops in the entire country and she was assigned to profile us! We were stunned and thrilled, of course – Saveur is a phenomenal epicurean magazine with more than 1.6 million readers.

We just found out that the piece will run in the August / September issue, so be sure to check it out!