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Dan’s Cellar Notes for August 2003
My sister was visiting from New Mexico recently, and, when I offered her some wine, she asked for Chardonnay. “I really like your Chardonnay,” she added. However, the last time she tasted any of my wines was three years ago, so, naturally, I wondered (to myself), how could she possibly know what my Chardonnay tastes like this year?
A couple months ago, I wrote in this space about comparing the 2001 and 2002 “vintages” of a particular wine kit, and a reader wrote me asking how I know what vintage the wine kit comes from. This raises the whole question about what “vintage” really means, and whether or not it pertains to kit wines. I have tried to wheedle information out of manufacturers about the vintages of the grapes that go into kits, but to no avail. They are not simply trying to be difficult or secretive, they just think (probably correctly) that the question is beside the point. The goal of wine kit manufacturers is to make a consistent product with wide appeal. They are made from blends of juices that may come from different areas, and even from different harvest years.
Modern commercial winemaking also aims for consistency, and in much of California, and some parts of southern Australia, that’s not hard to achieve. Climate tends to vary little from one year to the next. For mass-market wines from these markets, “vintage” is not a very meaningful concept, except to denote the wine’s age. Robert Mondavi’s Woodbridge Cab is pretty much the same from one year to the next, and it’s price stays pretty even, too. In many of the world’s wine-growing areas, however, year-to-year consistency is nearly an impossible quest. The grapes are simply not the same each year, because their growing conditions change from year to year. Virginia’s wines, for example, can vary extremely from one year to the next, as can most wines from France, Italy, and Germany. One year can be a bust, and the next year brilliant, and the price of a 2000 vintage Bordeaux may be three or four times that of the same wine with a 2001 vintage date.
The 1999 Chardonnay I offered my sister three years ago would not be the same wine today (if, that is, there were any left!). Wines are complex organic chemical systems that are continually undergoing changes of various sorts. Vintage is good for letting us know not just the harvest date of a wine, but its age, or maturity level.
Since I make wines not only from grapes, but also from kits, this year’s Chardonnay may be Chilean and last year’s French, and next year’s a blend of several! If I make a Chardonnay each year, one way of keeping them distinguished is by giving them different “vintage” dates. Even though they may have come from kits with identical names from a single manufacturer, it is likely that I treated them differently when making up the kit. And even though the name doesn’t change, manufacturers do tweak their kits fairly often, and so they are not perfectly consistent. The vintage date, along with other label information, is the best way for me to identify that particular wine.
This month I’d like to suggest that everyone run right our and buy two very fun bottles of Virginia wine. These are perfect summer wines; namely, Horton Stonecastle White, Vintage 2000, and Rapidan Rivers Dry Riesling, 2002. Horton’s Stonecastle white is a blend of Viognier, Marsanne, and Chardonnay. It is a clean, aromatic, fresh and refreshing white wine that is just made for summer. This beautifully balanced wine is bargain priced at about $9.00 a bottle, is well worth it, and it is widely available. This is wine to buy by the case and drink everyday.
Riesling, to me, is a perfect summer wine—and sometimes, in some forms, the perfect anytime wine. Prince Michel, in Leon Virginia, generally packages its Rieslings under the Rapidan River label, and they have produced many very fine Rieslings over the years. The 2002 Dry Riesling carries an exuberant description on the label speaking of aromas of cut flowers, and likening the wine to a lush Alsatian Riesling. Now, good Alsatian Rieslings are a good bit better wine than this, but they also tend to cost three or four times as much. I did a comparison tasting, however, of the Rapidan River Dry Riesling, 2002, against a similarly priced German dry Riesling, Hans Lang Trocken, Reingau, 2000. The Rapidan is more lush, more fruity, and, indeed, closer to the Alsatian style. I, personally, liked the Hans Lang better, however. It is truly crisp, very dry, refreshing, and cleansing, while the Rapidan is a bit sweeter and tends towards flabbiness unless it is quite well chilled. Having said that, the Rapidan is an excellent bargain at between $7-8 a bottle. It will be a fine accompaniment to peach cobbler on a hot August night, and it is widely available. The Hans Lang wine is available from River City Cellars on Cary Street (while supply lasts), at between $11-12 per liter. Why not get a bottle of each and try your own comparative tasting. I can’t think of a better way to spend a hot August night with good friends.
I recently tasted a bottle of R. J. Spagnol’s Cru Select Platinum Australian Shiraz that I made up over three years ago. This wine is velvety smooth, and chock full of understated plum and jam flavors, with warmly alcoholic tones. I used this wine primarily in a blend (which I called “Riverside Red”) with California Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The Shiraz was dominant, at approximately 60% of the blend. In addition, I bottled several bottles of the unblended Shiraz. It is true to Aussie style, aromatic, velvety smooth and delicious. A very nice wine, either for use on its own or for blending with reds that need more fruit and a smoother structure. There is a good, soft, tannic spine to this wine, so I feel it will continue to age well for a few more years.