Tried and true; the 2007 vintage Port declaration

Artisan Vineyards recently savored the opportunity to taste through an extraordinary line up of Ports from the declared 2007 vintage.  Chicago hosted eleven of the most celebrated Port houses earlier this year to launch the latest declared vintage and the reception met resounding enthusiasm.  Among the world’s longest-lived wines, vintage Port captures the senses completely and has duly earned its seat among the pantheon of the finest wines.

Vintage Port, an exceptional category

As vintage port is the most exceptional wine of the region, a vintage is seldom declared more than three times in each decade.  House styles vary according to their land, production and which varieties are used of the 80 some permitted.  When it comes to Port, the majority of wine drinkers are more accustomed to the more familiar styles available: Ruby, Tawny, Reserve Ruby and to some extent the LBVs.  Beautiful in their own right, such styles offer but a glimpse of the effusive character vintage Port presents en force.  When, during the course of a promising year, growers recognize the ideal conditions and handle the crop accordingly, they may find nature has blessed that particular harvest with unrivalled fruit, balance, depth and complexity.  After the harvest, such a crop is often crushed under foot, fermented between 6% and 9% alcohol by volume and at which point fortified with a grape neutral spirit at 77% alcohol by volume at roughly one part spirit to four parts wine.  It is then matured in cask for no more than two years leaving the rest of the development to evolve slowly behind glass over time –usually reaching their peak between 20 and 45 years old but often lasting well into their eighties and beyond.  Rich, full, deep and structured, vintage Port stands head-and-shoulders above its peers.

Triumphant 2007 vintage declared

With precipitous, vine clad slopes that seem to loom high above and press in against the river, the Douro is renowned as a region with insurmountable topography, inhospitable schistose and granitic soils and a dry climate known for its raging sun; just the place for the tough indigenous grapes of Portugal.  However, given a little tenderness, these varietals often find a voice that speaks of more than just deeply ripened and rendered fruit.  Unlike the opaque concentration of the declared 2000 vintage or the ripe qualities of the 2003 vintage, 2007 will long be remembered as one of the most expressive and elegant Ports declared.  According to Dominic Symington, whose family’s stable includes Graham, Dow, Warre, Smith Woodhouse and Quinta do Vesuvio, 2007 stood proud as a “classical year,” describing the Ports as more “feminine” and unique in their immediate pleasure despite their promise to last.  Reflecting on the vintage as a whole, Dominic tells us “it was seldom over 105° –a relatively cool year for us.”   The weather was quite bad during flowering, and the season “continued with rather difficult conditions and a long rather cool summer.  But then we had a copybook late summer with the odd day of rain, little moisture and a long and gentle growing season” –one that Symington reckons led the way for a remarkable vintage sure capture attention for their breadth, depth and high toned complexity.

Vintage Ports

Noval and Warre are two of the most distinguished Ports available.  We feel extremely fortunate to carry these houses under our roof and even more so to provide you with access to their glorious Ports.  Chuffed to have such an early glimpse onto the declared 2007 vintage, we took down our initial impressions with an eye to chart their development over time.

Quinta do Noval has made great wine since 1715 but it was the 1931 declaration that put the house’s illustrious name on the map and their Port on every clamoring aficionados lips.  Known as one of the most beautiful estates for the grounds’ massive cedar trees and the stunning views that frame the heart of the Douro, Quinta do Noval deserves the hallowed reputation that sets it apart.  Christian Seely, who has looked after Noval since 1993, was on hand in Chicago to share the quinta’s latest vintage.  Asking after the Noval’s loftiest bottling, the Nacional, we were told by Seely that the 2007 Quinta do Noval is as great a Port from 2007 and that he actually preferred it to the eminent Nacional.

Quinta do Noval 2007 stood out among the other titans in the room for its deep, dark fruit, cocoa tannins, fresh mulberry and thistle come clover top notes and yet, despite a round and balanced attack, it seemed to swell to a saturating force through the end.  For all its feminine balance it insists on showing you how the Douro can ripen its fruit so thoroughly even during a more elegant vintage.  Even though a wine so rich will no doubt last decades, it presented heaps of flavors already calling “come hither” without decanting.  Perhaps patience is sometimes overrated.

Further along, we remarked how many of these great Ports were already approachable fresh out of the gates.  One in particular was Noval’s Silval 2007 Vintage Port from estate grown fruit.  Silval’s captivating fragrance is generous with a pure core of red fruit and lifted cardamom among an array of other brown spices.  It struck us as lighter and fresher with a lovely approachable style.  Possessing ample weight, the Silval has the stuffing to last but not so much that you need to keep it at arms length for another decade –it’s simply a happy choice: drink down as you please or see how beauty evolves.

Warre’s 2007 Vintage Port burst from the glass with penetrating aromas of just about every kind red and black fruit, anise, cloves, aromatic hardwoods and lifting floral notes.  Since 1670, Warre’s name has been synonymous with great Port and this example surely conveys why.  This 2007 combines the bold concentration from the 25 year old vines grown at the Bom Retiro estate with the high toned structure from the Cavadinha vineyards that preserve a clean and focused lift.  A glowing texture fills the mouth with rich, bright fruit and then moves you with the savory spice of fine grained tannins.  Much like Dominic Symington who runs Warre’s with a warm and steady charm, the 2007 speaks eloquently of the Douro, the benign vintage and the expressive fruit that wafts up from the glass.  With blackberry low notes checked by taut cherry high notes, Warre’s 2007 engages the palate with spiced plums, a bright cranberry structure and rich and ripe dark fruits sure to last and evolve beyond measure.

None combine the depth, concentration and longevity of vintage Port.  Such a rich and complex fortified can grab you by the collar and pull you in.  A moment later it might lure you quietly with the subtlety of its fragrance.  The palate can occupy your entirety.  On the finish, fresh nuances might surface just when you thought it had shown you everything.  It’s long lived on the palate, lasting in the bottle and will surface in your memories years after you enjoyed that bottle’s last drop.  Are there any things in life greater than ingredients that inspire and spark memory; memories of a rare vintage, of bottles to mark a birth or a wedding, memories of forgotten friends or the distant past?  Vintage Port etches itself in thoughts like no other wine.  Thanks to a clement 2007 these vintage Ports need not rest before their corks are pulled and yet they promise to please no matter when they surface from the cellar.

Although some of our retailing partners may still have stock of the Ports listed above, twelve bottles are all that remain (when this was written) of the Noval 2007 Vintage Port.  Stock yours while they last here. 

Click here to explore our current selection of Ports.

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Sake primer to bone up on Japan's best export

Four simple ingredients

Rice, water, koji-kin and yeast are all Sake requires to conjure millions of different aromas, flavors, textures and charms.  Quality ingredients are as paramount as how they're handled.  In the hands of an accomplished toji (sakemaster) these four simple components can combine to express the first sweet cherry blossoms of springtime, freshly cut melons, the comforting, dry, earthen nuttiness of wild mushrooms, or the scintillating allure of crisp, uplifting sparkling orchard fruit.  Nuance and subtlety make sake one of the most compatible beverages for all kinds of cuisine.  Sake teases out countless qualities from rice, water, yeast and koji-kin.

More than sixty strains of rice are employed in crafting sake.  Nothing like the rice we cook for the table, these sake varieties have a core of starch that is reached by milling the outer minerals, proteins and fats before brewing.  A tojis choice of water has an enormous impact on the end result.  Some use hard water or spring water for given minerals while others used softened water or even go further to adjust the water for the desired impact.  Koji-kin is unique to sake.  Before the yeasts can go to work converting the sugars to alcohol, the toji will apply koji-kin, benign mold spores to a portion of the steamed rice destined for sake.  This enzyme converts the starches into sugars that will nourish the yeasts and allow fermentation.  Nothing is moldy about the aftermath, just sweet nutty rice.

Dozens of yeast strains are employed in sak production and often impart a great deal of fragrance from floral to fruity.  Some are regional while others are isolated locally and held in secret by this or that kura (or brewery).  Much like sourdough bread, sak fermentation requires a starter before the batch gets under way.  This starter is made by adding yeast to a combination of water, rice and koji.  Yeast cells multiply over a fortnight when the starter is then introduced to more steamed rice, water, and koji.  This stage lasts up to a month and demand vigilance.  Artful fermentations require a keen eye and steady hand to make sure temperatures, alcohol and yeast activity keep an even keel and yield a beautiful, fragrant sake with body, flavor, balance and a lingering grace.

Sake compliments food and a table of friends as few libations can.  Sake has less acidity than wine, contains no sulfites, generally hovers around 15% alcohol and can express every shade of texture, flavor and fragrance.  In order to preserve these delicate qualities, we take great pains to bring sake the way its toji intend.  From our shipping containers coming from Japan, through our warehouse, to the trucks that provide your retailer, all maintain a controlled temperature that guarantees your sake arrives in ideal condition.  Rather than drinking it warm the way your grandfather might have done, serve premium sake slightly chilled to reveal more of its delicate subtlety, inviting ways and all the pleasures it possesses.

Browse our Sake portfolio here 

May 6, 2009

If you are a fanatic, as I am, for the purer, clearer style of Chablis, 2007 is a year to get excited about. No, I havent spent a week visiting Chablis cellars and tromping through vineyards. But in my scattered tastings of 2007 Chablis here at home, mostly straightforward village-level Chablis at that, Ive found the sort of beautifully etched wines that can send even the most unimpressionable Chablis lover floating up among aromas and images of oyster shells, crushed rocks, limestone and chalk...

Odd things to find in a wine, to be sure. But Chablis is a remarkable wine.  Like so many other white wines around the world, Chablis is made entirely of the chardonnay grape, but no Chardonnay tastes like Chablis. The flavors in a glass of Chablis rarely suggest tropical fruits; often they dont suggest any fruit at all. Flavors of oak are thankfully infrequent. Instead, to an extent beyond other white Burgundies, a good Chablis calls to mind the myriad aromas and flavors often lumped together under the vague-but-useful term mineral...

William Fvre is one of the Chablis elite. While I havent tasted the top-level Fvre 2007 wines, its 07 Champs Royaux, made from purchased grapes, is a delicious Chablis for about $25, with mineral flavors that I could think of only as limestone scrapings, along with a bit of lemon, honey and herbs...

As you ascend to the premier cru and grand cru levels, the wines get richer and more detailed, though always with their distinctive chalky minerality.

Click here to see William Fvre wines on sale

ECO-FRIENDLY WINES

Representing wineries that practice Sustainable agriculture, Organic grape growing, or the science of Biodynamics has always been important to the staff of Artisan Vineyards, but never before have these ideas and practices meant so much to our customers.  We are proud to take this opportunity to share with you a little bit of information that will not only make you a better-rounded wine drinker, but a more eco-conscience resident of planet earth.

Sustainable

A commitment to Sustainable agriculture gives a grower the flexibility to address potential cataclysmic threats to their vineyard while remaining a faithful steward of the lands they are working.  The goal of Sustainable agriculture is to farm Organically when possible, while retaining the ability to react to problems that might otherwise ruin a harvest.  Many Sustainable producers are growing grapes in marginal climates that simply do not allow them the luxury of farming completely Organically every vintage.  Other Sustainable grape growers are working toward their Organic certification but do not yet have a long enough history of Organic farming in their vineyards to qualify for Organic certification.  Sustainable growers use synthetic chemical additives in their vineyards only as a last resort and not at all in many vintages.

Organic

The large majority of Organic wines are in fact made from Organically grown grapes but not vinified organically.  The obstacle to organic winemaking is the prohibition of sulfur compounds in the winemaking process.  For better or worse, the addition of minute levels of sulfur dioxide at the end of the winemaking process is what keeps wines stable in the bottle long term.  Not to add a few parts per million of SO2 when finishing your wines is to invite disaster your cellar.  Organic grape farming, however, is becoming widely popular as more and more winemakers have recognized that they simply get better fruit from the vineyards that are farmed organically than those that are farmed using conventional methods.  Organic certification, which is currently handled by a number of competing authorities, at its base requires the grower to demonstrate that they are working without chemical fertilizers, weed killers, insecticides, and other synthetic chemicals.  These wineries must demonstrate that the vineyards in question have been handled in accordance with these Organic prohibitions for between five and seven years before certification is possible.

Biodynamic

Based on the teaching of Rudolf Steiner, Biodynamics is a response by farmers who are concerned about the degradation of their lands.  The basis of Biodynamics is more than just the prohibition of synthetic chemicals, but a commitment to actions which ensure a proper balance and harmony between land, plants, and the environment.  The guiding principals of Biodynamics are: 1) to upgrade the soil and plant life in its natural environment through the use of product made from vegetable, animal, and mineral matter, 2) the application of these products at specific times during annual cycles, 3) working the land by tilling and hoeing so as to enhance the soils natural capacity to nourish the plants and animals within its reach.  In effect, Biodynamics simply takes many of the principals of Organic farming and puts them into a structured program which includes an awareness of terrestrial and lunar cycles and the natural energies of all living things.

THE 2006 OREGON PINOT NOIRS!

We know our Oregon wines are great and the latest issue of the Wine Advocate agrees:

Bergstrom Winery, 2006 Pinot Noir Bergstrom Vineyard
95 Points The 2006 Pinot Noir Bergstrom Vineyard is medium/dark ruby-colored with a superb perfume of pain grille, roses, raspberry, and cherry. Velvety-textured, savory, and ripe, the wine conceals enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years. Layered and long, it will be at its best from 2012 to 2020.
The Bergstrom Winery, under the direction of Josh Bergstrom, has quickly risen to the upper echelon of United States producers of Pinot Noir. Not to be forgotten is the fact that the winery also turns out superb Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay.
-Jay Miller, Wine Advocate, October 08

Bergstrom Winery, 2006 Pinot Shea Vineyard
94 Points The 2006 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard comes from one the Willamette Valley's most renowned terroirs. Deeper colored than its predecessors, it has a plummy, dark-fruited bouquet, with notes of violets and damp earth. Round and ripe, it offers up spicy black cherry and black raspberry flavors leading to a lengthy, fruit-filled finish. Give it two to three years to evolve and drink it from 2011 through 2020.
-Jay Miller, Wine Advocate, October 08

Domaine Drouhin 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
90 Points The entry level 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley is medium ruby-colored with an attractive bouquet of wood smoke, spice box, cherry, and raspberry. This leads to a wine with an elegant personality marked by racy, savory red fruits, a silky texture, excellent balance, and a persistent, fruit-filled finish. Give it 2-3 years and drink it from 2010 to 2018.
Domaine Drouhin remains one of the standards against which other Oregon Pinot Noirs must be measured.
-Jay Miller, Wine Advocate, October 08

Eyrie Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir
92 Points The 2006 Pinot Noir Estate was aged entirely in seasoned oak. It is light ruby-colored with a lovely bouquet of cherry and wild strawberry. This leads to a velvety textured, elegant wine with savory red fruits, spice, excellent concentration and a fruit-filled finish. The wines impeccable balance may allow for further development in the bottle but it can be enjoyed now. Achieving this level of elegance in a vintage like 2006 is a singular accomplishment.
-Jay Miller, Wine Advocate, October 08

Lange 2006 Pinot Noir Three Hills Cuvee
90 Points The 2006 Pinot Noir Three Hills Cuvee is a blend of the estates three oldest single vineyards. It is dark ruby-colored with an alluring nose of Asian spices, earth notes, black cherry, and black raspberry. This leads to a medium- to full-bodied Pinot with good density, savory flavors, and enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years. Drink it from 2010 to 2018. 
Lange Estate Winery and Vineyards began in 1987. It owns 60 acres in Dundee Hills, 35 currently in production. It also purchases fruit and makes about 14,000 cases per year. The winery makes excellent white wines but Pinot Noir is the principal focus.
-Jay Miller, Wine Advocate, October 08

Penner-Ash 2006 Pinot Noir
91 Points The 2006 Pinot Noir is a blend of several vineyards. Medium ruby-colored, it reveals a spicy, already complex aromatic array of roses, cherries, and raspberries. This is followed by a velvety-textured, elegant wine with savory red and blue fruit flavors, no hard edges, and a medium-long, pure finish. Drink it over the next 4-6 years.
Penner-Ashs 2006 Pinot Noirs are uniformly top-notch, not a surprise given this husband-wife teams track record. Not to be over-looked, Penner-Ash also produces excellent Riesling, Viognier, and Syrah.
-Jay Miller, Wine Advocate, October 08

St. Innocent 2006 Seven Springs Pinot Noir
92 Points The 2006 Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard offers a complex bouquet of pain grille, spice box, damp earth, black cherry, and black raspberry. This is followed by a medium- to full-bodied wine with gobs of dark fruits, intense, savory flavors excellent depth and concentration, and a 45-second finish. Drink it from 2010 to 2018.
Mark Vlossak, partner/winemaker of St. Innocent Winery, was in a pleasant mood when I saw him in late July of 2008 and why not? He has moved into a splendid new facility where he can take full advantage of his winemaking talents. Furthermore, his 2006 Pinot Noirs are very successful and his 2007s in barrel might be even better.
-Jay Miller, Wine Advocate, October 08

Torii Mor 2006 Pinot Noir Oregon
90 Points The 2006 Pinot Noir Oregon is sourced entirely from the Willamette Valley except for one vineyard in the Umpqua Valley. Medium/dark ruby-colored, it offers up notes of spice box, cedar, cherry, and raspberry. This leads to a smooth textured, round, sweetly fruited wine with some elegance and savory flavors. This entry-level Pinot is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
-Jay Miller, Wine Advocate, October 08

Torii Mor 2006 Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Select
91 Points The 2006 Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Select is dark ruby in color with red and black cherry, black raspberry, damp earth and spice box aromatics. Silky-textured, round, and dense, the wine has excellent depth and grip, followed by a lengthy, fruit-filled finish. Drink it over the next five to six years.
-Jay Miller, Wine Advocate, October 08

12 GREAT WINES UNDER $12 PER BOTTLE

As we've told you our association with Artisan Vineyards is to extend to you a selection of wines that are pretty much out of the mainstream.  The availability is too small for ordinary commerce, the wine might be too esoteric for the mainstream or maybe at the moment we just don't have the space on our store shelves.

Here is a selection to show off the premise of our work with Artisan Vineyards.  Six white wines and six red that we've picked to showscase our site to you.  Scan their entries, you're sure to find intriguing wines.

WHITES

Anton Bauer Gruner Veltliner Gmork     Bright aromas of ripe Granny Smiths.
Don Rodolfo Torrontes     Apricot juice with equal portions of grapefruit and lime.
La Place Aramis Blanc     Endless freshness and verve.  Back up the truck!
Vega Sindoa Viura-Chardonnay     "Gobs of flavor"... The Wine Advocate
Man Vintners Chardonnay     Bouquet of tropical fruits and melon.
Fuzelo Vino Verde     Youth, bright minerality.  Very refreshing.

REDS

La Playa Cabernet     The nose is black cherries and black pepper.
Paso A Paso Tinto     Great wine value from Spain.
The Wolf Trap   Nose of a berry cart overturned in front of a coffee shop making mochas.
Bouissel Cotes du Frontonnais     Gorgeous nose of smoked meats and black raspberries.
Gran Sasso Primitivo     Vigorous and gutsy.
Le Caselle Chianti     Light-bodied, fresh lively fruit.

I KNOW WHATS WRONG WITH THE CALIFORNIA WINE BUSINESS!

Last week I made lunch for two old friends who, in a large way, were responsible for bringing to Minnesota wines that way back then were defining what California wines could be.  When Mr. Ready pronounced the Austrian Eichinger Riesling Heilegenstein served with the trout to be stunning, I smiled and suggested they really needed to try her Gruner Veltliner.  I  was surprised at their only somewhat tongue in cheek denouncement of Gruner. 
It turns out that three years ago Mr. Hoffman had called David to announce that he knew what was wrong with the California wine business.  David was eager for this enlightenment, "What would that be?"  "Gruner Veltliner," replies John.  "Remember when we could go into a restaurant and with our great portfolio place two, three, sometimes four on a good list.  Now they only have a couple of Caifornia Sauvignon blanc but two or three Austrian Gruner Veltliner."
Terry Theise, the American guru of Austrian and German wines, is emphatic.  "Gruner Veltliner is THE ANSWER to all the foods that supposedly are wine-killers.  Artichokes, shrimp, avocado, every manner of obstreperous veggie, the Veltliner loves 'em.  Need a wine for wild mushroom saute?  Step right up.  Want a wine for a really peppery salad, lots of mizuna, tatsoi arugula, Gruner has it covered.
Peruse our Gruner Veltliners.

WINE & SPIRITS TOP 100 WINERIES, 2007

It is gratifying to see the wineries we are so proud of representing receive such high praise from a group of professionals who have tasted the produce of untold thousands of wineries this year.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Dashe Cellars
Iron Horse
Tablas Creek
Martin Ray
Joseph Drouhin
Emilio Moro
E. Guigal
Schiopetto
Cono Sur

WINE SPECTATOR'S TOP 100 WINES FOR 2007

Artisan Vineyards is proud to represent several of the wines that made the list of  Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines of 2007.  Please take this opportunity to click below and learn more about these award winning wines.
#11       Torre Muga
#90       Tres Picos
#96       Fevre Chablis