Philly Wine Finder

Dr. F. Weins-Prüm Riesling and Trader Joe's Frozen Latkes

This simple, understated (classic?) Mosel Riesling was ok but nothing spectacular: off-dry, clean tasting, with maybe a hint of honeysuckle. 

The surprise hit of the meal was the Trader Joe's Frozen Latkes. Sitting between the roasted brussels sprouts and the chicken with white wine and mushrooms on our plates, the latkes really pulled the meal together, just like that rug in the Big Lebowski. The overall effect was very central European, so the Riesling paired well, even if it wasn't a standout.

2008 Dr. F. Weins-Prüm Riesling Estate
$11.88

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"There are times when you wish to leave the pomp and circumstance in the rear view mirror and instead enjoy a simple bottle of wine for the moment’s sake (not the score or other)." Jon Rimmerman

California Pinot and French Burgundy

We bought Londer Pinot Noir from the PA State Store on the strength of some of the recommendations on PAWineTalk. Among wine geeks, it's generally accepted that it is difficult to find good Pinot Noir for $15 or less, so we are always looking for good Pinot at this price point. We didn't find it.

Londer tasted pretty much like all the other US Pinots we've had. Our tasting notes say, "raw, edgy, hot/high alcohol, smoky, forest fire, sour raspberries, strong." If you like this domestic style of Pinot Noir, you may like Londer, as many folks on PAWineTalk did. If you prefer the French style, read on.

We compared the Londer side-by-side to Domaine Poulleau Père & Fils Côte de Beaune Les Mondes Rondes. We know, that's a lot of foreign looking names all next to each other. Don't be scared, it's just 100% Pinot Noir from France--they call it Burgundy. But very big difference in taste.  Our tasting notes say, "pleasant, fresh, clean, not complex, bright fruit, light, delicate."

Can you tell which one we liked better? We thought the Londer might improve by having it with some food, but the opposite occurred: the Poulleau got better, and the Londer seemed to get worse.

This was a very useful exercise for us, it really brought some clarity to our preferences for  these different expressions of Pinot Noir. While the French stuff may be hard to find, we are smitten, and we may not be buying any more California Pinot for quite a while.

Londer Vineyards Pinot Noir Anderson Valley 2007
Chairman's Selection^TM
Description from PLCB web site
PLCB Code: 13585
Size: 750ML
Price: $14.99
PAWineTalk
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2008 Domaine Poulleau (Pere et Fils) Cote de Beaune “Les Mondes Rondes” - $13.99

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"If you enjoy the freshness, nuance and mineral-driven persona that only comes from Pinot Noir rooted in the Cote d’Or, this wonderful example is not only a breath of fresh air, it’s a revelation of sorts.  A multi-award winner, (I believe this won the gold or silver medal at Macon, which is one of the most competitive shows for Burgundy) Domaine Poulleau’s Cote de Beaune “Les Mondes Rondes” delivers a terroir-filled, classic expression of the grape for a pittance of a price (although it’s normally $25 or more, so I should discuss the wine in the context of that price)....
While today’s offer is not for those that lean toward sappy, 14.5-15.5% domestic Pinot Noir, it is for everyone else."
NO SALES TO RETAILERS OR WHOLESALERS
Jon Rimmerman
Garagiste

 

 

Frutti di Mare and Red or White?

We are not in Philly this week, so when we looked out our window and saw this: 

we knew we had to run to the local fish shop so we could make this:

which is Frutti di Mare or pasta and seafood.  This can be a tricky pairing because it has seafood, which would indicate white wine, but it's in tomato sauce, which may tempt you into red.  You could go either way, but we recommend a high acid Italian white, such as the Fattoria Laila Verdicchio that we received as a gift from friends.  We used it in the sauce and it went well with the food.

We went to a small local wine shop and told them what we were cooking. They recommended Antica Osteria, a red blend from Italy.  It was ok, but nothing special, and not as popular at the table as Chateau Simian Cotes du Rhone, a Garagiste selection.

For more great seafood dishes and pairings see the posts this week from our friends at the blog Philly Food Lovers.

Rack of Lamb and Rioja

The idea for this pairing came from the book Wine, Food & Friends: Karen's Wine and Food Pairing Guide, Plus Over 100 Cooking Light Recipes by Karen MacNeil.  This book is a great complement to the classic The Wine Bible , also by MacNeil, and sometimes it goes on sale in the bargain bin at Amazon.

MacNeil is dead on about Rioja and Lamb, as this Rioja Crianza from Garagiste went perfectly with Trader Joe's Free Range Fully Cooked Heat and Serve Seasoned Rack of Lamb.  Not much on the nose, maybe some bright fruit,  but a pleasant spiciness was a great match for the gaminess of the lamb.  The food definitely brought out the best in this wine, which was in fact a little different from the Rioja's we are used to from the PLCB. 

2007 Ontañón Rioja Crianza
Garagiste
$12.93

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Le Petit Roy

This wine comes from "one of the quirkiest, least-known retail treasures in the wine world" an Internet wine retailer based in Seattle called Garagiste.  If you feel put out by not being able to buy wine in the supermarket, you can stop reading now--you have to do a lot of work to get wine from Garagiste:  subscribe to their email list; place your order immediately or risk the wine selling out; wait until you have accumulated at least a case of wine;  wait until Garagiste ships in the Fall or the Spring; have it shipped to a state that permits out-of-state shipping; and finally drink it out of state!  Whew!

Garagiste is somewhat famous for their email descriptions of wine, this one was billed as a secret bargain Chateauneuf-du-Pape, possibly a marketing ploy to play on wine geeks' desire to be in-the-know on rare but inexpensive wines (yes we fell for it).  Here's the description on this one from Garagiste:

It is made with the same traditional take that Royer uses on his $40 CdP but some of the fruit comes from outside the boundary of the appellation so he can’t call it Chateauneuf-du-Pape. He also doesn’t bother to label the wine or register it as a vintage wine. In 2007, the estate component of the Petit Domaine was so strong, they almost separated it into a new Châteauneuf cuvee but, in the end, he kept the wine as a VdP to please his French customers.  VdP’s generally garner a much lower price than Chateauneuf which gives Royer something to offer his French clients for everyday consumption. While $10 is considered quite high for an everyday wine in France ($13-15 may as well be $100), by stuffing as much quality as he could into the Petit Domaine, Royer is hoping to deliver a special occasion example that can also be enjoyed without pretense.

What's the verdict?  It was a great wine that we enjoyed very much, but a little thin for a CdP comparison.  It had a typical Southern Rhone style nose of light fruit, a pleasant mouthfeel, and a charming spicyness on the finish.  Some reviews on CellarTracker called this a bitter, alcohol finish, but we are calling it cinnamon.  The flavors fit well with our difficult to pair sweet potato spinach blue cheese pasta salad.

This wine reminded us a little of one of our favorite Moore Brothers wines, the 2007 Bout d'Zan from Domaine du Mas de Libian, which happens to be currently on special offer (2009 vintage).

Domaine Jean Royer Vin de Table Français Le Petit Domaine (Le Petit Roy) 2007
$13.99

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