Thief Wine Blog

We did it! Some may question the sanity of jumping into a very cold lake in 10-degree weather, but it was a great experience. I just liked the adrenaline rush, while Aimee has now firmly established her credentials as cold-hardy – no one can give her grief about being from California any more.

Aimee made it onto the CBS 58 newscast – check out the full video at www.cbs58.com/index.php?aid=5806.

We started fortifying ourselves around 10 with some Kahlua and coffee (Aimee) and cava (me) and got to Bradford Beach around 11:30. It was crazy crowded, with lots of tents, informal camps, and an equal mix of spectators and participants. Lots of fun costumes and general revelry. Damn was it cold, though! About 20 degrees, but with wind chill about 10. Water was about 30, with lots of floating ice.

(Photo at right is of us pre-plunge)

A couple of shots of Kentucky Vintage bourbon warmed us up a bit (very nice bourbon, actually; we sell it at the shop and I can vouch for its efficacy), and right around noon we stripped down to our bathing suits and shoes (necessary because of the rocks and ice as you’re running in) and headed in. I’ve skydived several times, and this felt a bit like that – as you’re leaving the plane, there’s a pit in your stomach and you wonder why you’re doing this, but then as you jump the adrenaline kicks in and it’s exhilarating.

Ice banks blocked most of the access to the water, so there were only a few access points – I felt like a lemming following people in single file. We splashed around a bit and dunked ourselves (confirming that yes, it’s cold).

We couldn’t get out the same way we came in because of all the people still entering, so we ended up getting out a bit down the beach and separated – far away from our towels and our friend Paul who was waiting to photograph us. Thus, no photos of us in the water or Aimee or getting out, alas. We dried off and headed home to a long, hot shower.

(Photo at right is me post-plunge).

Definitely not something I need to do every year, but totally worth doing.

We had a great day at the shop on New Year’s Eve – far and away our best day ever. Thanks to everyone who shopped with us! Our offering of Nicolas Feuillatte at 19.95 (cheaper than Ray’s!) was a huge success; we sold out everything we had. The last few days have been quite busy as well; I’m a little bit embarrassed by how picked over the shop seems and am looking forward to getting my deliveries on Tuesday. Will also be swapping out the wine list quite extensively, especially the reds. Everyone’s loving what’s on there now, but it’s been a while and I want to keep it fresh.

Back to NYE – we were at the shop until about 8:30 or so, then had a quiet evening at home. Cooked wonderful lobster tails from Saint Paul Fish and filet from Rupena’s, complemented by Charles Lafitte Rose Champagne, which was delicious. Champagne is a great food wine, and rose in particular can work with heavier foods such as steak because of the additional body from the red grapes. We made it to about 12:10 before crashing, just long enough to ring in the new year. We needed our sleep, though – we had a big day planned for 1/1!

Last week’s tasting of Bordeaux blancs was probably our most successful yet – highest attendance (which, quite frankly, surprised me, given that a) it’s white wine and b) it’s relatively obscure); best set of wines (both for quality and drinking pleasure and for showcasing the region); and from our make-enough-money-to-stay-in-business perspective, people enjoyed the wines enough to buy a fair amount of them.

A quick primer on white wines from Bordeaux: the main grapes are Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, with Muscadelle a distant third. Most wines are a blend of the first two, with occasionally a bit of Muscadelle thrown in. It’s a good mix, since Semillon is everything Sauvignon Blanc is not, so the two are complementary: SB is high-acid, aromatic, and can be very angular on the palate. Semillon is low acid, not aromatic, and gives great palate structure and weight, almost a fatness of texture in the mouth. On the lower end of the price & quality scale, SB usually dominates and the wines are unoaked; as you move up the latter, you see more Semillon and more oak, which adds ageworthiness, complexity, and depth. Muscadelle adds a bit of tropical fruitiness to the mix. The wines:

Chateau Lestrille 2007 Entre Deux Mers ($14.95). Entre deux Mers is the region in Bordeaux; it’s known for producing cleanly made, excellent value whites. This wine is 90% Sauv. Blanc, 5% Semillon, and 5% Muscadelle, with no oak aging. Very crisp and exceptionally fruity for a Bordeaux – several people commented it could easily have been a New World wine. I thought it was delicious; clean on the palate yet rich; blows away any CA or New Zealand Sauv Blanc for the price.

Chateau Graville Lacoste 2007 Graves ($20.95). 60% Semillon, 35 Sauv. Blanc, 5% Muscadelle. (Or thereabouts – hard to get accurate info on this wine). Same vintage as the first wine, yet the presence of more Semillon gave it a depth and weight that the Lestrille didn’t have. Still crisp and high acid, with grapefruit flavors dominating, but with a fatness of texture from the Semillon. Barrel fermented, but in neutral oak so there wasn’t any oak flavor, but it contributed to the texture. Not a ton of overt Semillon flavors; I think that will develop with a year or two in bottle.

Chateau Respide Medeville 2005 Graves ($29.95) 49% Semillon, 49% Sauv. Blanc, 2% Muscadelle. This wine was phenomenal; along with the Lestrille, the top quality to price wine in the tasting. Same region as the second wine, but with a couple more years of age on it. The Semillon was very appararent – flavors of fig and honey, with a lanolin texture in the mouth and great richness. Long finish, impeccable balance, just lovely.

Chateau Teyssier 2005 Clos Nardian Bordeaux Blanc ($89.95) This wine is actually from a single vineyard in St. Emilion, but St. Emilion is a red-wine-only appellation, so the wine has to be labeled Bordeaux blanc. Only 250 cases made each year, from 40 year old Semillon and Sauv Blanc vines (40% of each) and 70 year old Muscadelle vines (20%). Barrel fermented and aged in new French oak for 7 months with frequent lees stirring.  This is a stunning wine, as it should be for the price. Overt oakand a very creamy mouthfeel, yet the fruit has enough concentration to balance it out. It almost resembles a top white Burgundy in mouthfeel and texture, but with a different fruit profile – the sauv. blanc gives it a tangy citrus quality, along with Semillon’s honeyed character. Lovely now, but I think it will improve for 4-6 years. It was fun to open – I hadn’t tried it myself, and I really enjoy giving a lot of people the chance to experience something they might not be able to buy.

WOW! In a nutshell, that was the reaction to one of the wines at our recent tasting; it was simply stunning, in my opinion, the best under $50 wine we have in the shop. But first, some context….

This past Tuesday’s tasting featured 4 red wines from Northern Catalonia, centered around Priorat and surrounding regions. Priorat is about an hour and a half southwest of Barcelona, in the northeast corner of Spain. It’s gorgeous, rugged country, up in the mountains with some of the curviest, narrowest roads you’ll find anywhere; I traveled there a few years ago when I was working for a wine importer, and was struck by how remote and cut off it seemed. There’s a huge contrast between the rustic small towns of Gratallops and Porrera and the gleaming new wineries being built….I’m sure the towns won’t stay rustic for too much longer.

Priorat is a rising star of Spanish wines; the region has been growing grapes for centuries, but only in the last 25 years did modern winemakers discover the area and the huge potential of its old-vine (many more than 100 years) Carignan and Grenache. Old vines and very low yields (due primarily to the infertile soil and lack of rain) make for some wines of real character; big and full-bodied, yet with great acid, minerality, and structure. For the tasting, we tasting 4 wines from Priorat and a couple of surrounding regions.

Celler El Masroig 2007 “Sola Fred”, Montsant
Montsant is right next to Priorat, sharing the same elevation and climate, but without the distinguishing llicorella (reddish slate that reflects and conserves the heat; makes the vine roots dig deep for nutrients) soil that makes Priorat so special. As such, it’s often a great value, with wines costing less than half of those from Priorate. This wine was made from 90% Carignan & 10% Grenache from relatively young (20-30 year old) vines. Carignan is a grape known for both high acid and high tannins, and this wine had both. Juicy fruit, nice balance, not super complex but very enjoyable. It’d really shine with a steak to soften and round out the tannins a bit. Nice value at $11.95. (90 points Robert Parker)

Tomas Cusine 2006 Vilosell, Costers del Segre
Costers del Segre is a fairly new Denominacion de Origin in Spain; consequently there’s more interantional varietals (Cab, Merlot, Syrah) planted alongside Grenache and Carignan, and generally very modern winemaking. This wine is a blend of 50% Tempranillo, 30% Cab, 12% Grenache, and 8% Merlot. Super smooth compared to the Masroig; very polished and refined, with juicy strawberry and black fruit flavors, some spicy toast from the oak aging, and nice structure. A beautiful wine, especially for the price ($19.50) Great packaging, too.  (91 points Robert Parker)

Alvaro Palacios 2005 Les Terrasses, Priorat
Palacios is one of the pioneers of Priorat, and easily its most famous winemaker. His L’Ermita is considered one of Spain’s top wines (also one of its most expensive at $650 a bottle); he makes another single-vineyard wine called Finca Dofi (which we carry; $84.95), and the Les Terrasses, which is made from purchased fruit. He pays up to three times the going rate for grapes, so he gets the cream of the crop. This is a blend of roughly 45% Grenache, 45% Carignan, and 10% Cab. I’ve loved Palacios’ wines for years, so I was excited to taste the current vintage. Dark fruit, smoke, licorice, mineral, oak, this wine has it all. It was a little shut down now; I think it will be great in about 3-4 years. Aimee and I had a 1999 out of magnum a month ago, and it was drinking beautifully. For drinking now, it definitely needs decanting. ($39.50; 93 points Robert Parker)

Mas d’En Compte 2005 Priorat

This wine stole the show; it’s simply phenomenal. I tasted it a few months ago and liked it so much I bought everything the distributor had (about 9 cases), so our shop is the only place you’ll find it. So, I had high expectations for it, and it surpassed them, tasting even better now with a few months more age. 50% Grenache, 45% Carignan, 5% Cab; all the Carignan & Grenache is from vines 60-100+ years old. Brighter fruit than the Les Terrasses, but lusher and richer while still remaining elegant. A whole panopy of fruit, a bit of chocolate, licorice, spice. Mouthfilling, yet clean, and incredibly persistent, lingering on the palate and getting even more complex. Absolutely delicious now; will easily age will for another 6-8 years. ($44.95, 94 points Robert Parker)