The Grapes from A-Z

Cabernet Sauvignon
As a bona fide wine-guy you might be surprised to find the King of Grapes is not so high on my list of favorites. That being said the finest pure Cabs are silky, rich offerings from California. But wait my secret list has works from Washington State to Mendoza, Argentina. My two favorite wine makers for this grape are Ehren Jordan from Neyer’s Vineyards and Philippe Melka from all over the place, notably Lail, Parallel, West Face, and Metisse. Both makers are proponents of subtle oak and expressive use of the terroir so associated with their respective locales.
Yes, I love Shafer Hillside and the Special Selection from Caymus, but I am an indigent Wine Steward, so I will gladly drink The Show from Joel Gott, Bieler and Scomes ‘cause it’s 10 bucks a bottle and is an easy drinking, correct wine.
Okay, mes amies, I couldn’t leave without mentioning the likes of Chateau Latour, an immense and classic cab based wine… Perhaps all cabs have their roots in Bordeaux, and I cut my teeth on Chateau Gazin and other under the radar classics, so know that my demographic reaches the New World palates who expect fruit-packed wines with some degree of balance. You of the “Classic Palate’ will find these wines overbearing and immature, so stick with mature Bordeaux and some attuned American Vintners.
recommended Wines:
Cab 2003 Eagles Trace Napa Estate Very nice
Cab 2005 Faust Nice black fruits and licorice
Cab 2004 Falesco Umbria Marciliano Buy and hide this for a few
Cab 2004 Flora Springs Napa Holy Smoke Aptly named beast
Cab 2005 Lis Neris Friuli Exceptional itie cab
Cab 2002 Napa Redwoods Estate Mount Veeder Alden Perry Reserve Damn Good Flavors
Cab 2004 Neyers Vineyards Napa Neyers Ranch Ehren Jordan Super black fruits
Cab 2005 Parallel P Melka Thick and syrupy with perfect acidity
Cab 2002 Pine Ridge Stags Leap Gorgeous, drink this
Cab 2003 Rombauer Napa Damn, where have I been
Cab 2004 Sequum 4 soil melange Buy this 89pts
Cab 2004 Shafer Vineyards Napa 1.5 Great cab, spice & complexity
Cab 2006 Sineann Columbia Valley Cold Creek Very good, nice spice
Cab 2005 Sineann Columbia Valley Lazare Vineyard Wow
Cab 2003 Spring Mountain Napa Estate Thick an rich
Cab 2005 Vineyard 29 Cru Silky, elegant and stylish
Cab 2004 Waters Washington Paulliac-like, sweetly restrained
Cab 2005 Waters Washington Gorgeous aromatics, peppery extraction
Cab 2003 Whitehall Lane Napa Reserve Big black and spicy

The Wines from A-Z

Côtes-du-Rhône

The hearty, robust and honest flavors of a good Côtes du Rhône are one of life’s simple, yet profound experiences. Matched with a fresh baguette, or a loaf of semolina bread, one partakes of a simple meal that reaches back in time, thousands of years, and brings us eye to eye with the worshipers of Dionysius, Bacchus, and gods long forgotten. This unpretentious example from the Southern Rhône is a blend of ancient varieties. Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault are the most frequent elements. The 14 other allowed varietals are fillers that are not usually found in the finest CDR. Ideally, this wine retails for between 5-10 dollars, (20th century dollars). It is supposed to be an EVERYDAY kind of wine that goes well with burgers, chili, and the foods of autumn and winter. It’s a spicy and peppery brew with leather and earth aspects that add length and interest to the fruit components. Of course, there are $20+ examples of a CDR, Fonsalette and the Coudelet de Beaucastel to name two, but this is getting ahead of ourselves.
Recommended wines:
CDR NV? Cuvée Centenaire Cacher Bakobsa This is real fine stuff 88
Côtes-de-Rhone '97 Caves des Papes Rich flavors, complete wine 89*
Côtes-de-Rhone '99 Domaine Andezon Fresh, juicy, young flavors 88
CDR ‘05 Les Becs Fin Tardieu Laurent Exceptional wine 90

The Grapes from A-Z

Chardonnay

There is a town in France named Chardonnay…perhaps this was an indigenous grape to the area, and town and grape grew together. Perhaps not, but it is a quaint and picturesque story, non? As of this writing, late 2008, there is not the clamor or excitement surrounding this noble grape that there once was. It’s a shame really, as the fickle focus their search for the next big thing. The quality of this golden nectar is better than ever. Rich or lean, full and leasy, or restrained and clean the Chardonnay of today are glorious expressions of the different continents, regions, and vineyards. An easy grape to grow under a myriad of conditions, it is a bit of a chameleon as far as the taste profile goes. Long cool fermentations reveal notes that the small barrel oak infused wines might hide. Chardonnay does the heavy lifting in Champagne and can make a late harvest wine as sweet as any Riesling…well, that may be overstating the case but it is a most versatile and most Noble grape. Here’s a list of my favorites, today;
Chard 2005 Au Bon Climat Santa Barbara Jim Clendenen nice extraction, oak
Chard Casa Lapostolle Rapel Valley Citrus fruits headline the full flavors in this great value
Chard Catena Alta Mendoza unique expression
Chard 2005 Cloudy Bay Marlborough Very good wine
Chard 2005 Paul Cluver Wines Elgin Excellent, lime and minerals
Chard 2006 Coppo Italy Costebianche Racy, tart and fine
Chard 2003 Coppo Italy Monteriolo Goddamn! Nice dry and deep…
Chard 2005 Cousino-Macul Maipo Valley Antiguas Reservas Very nice reserve, wood tones
Chard 2001 Cynthus Russian River Gorgeous fruit framed by tasteful oak with beautiful secondary flavors
Chard 2005 Flowers Sonoma Coast Very nice
Chard 2004 Londer Kent Richie Wow, deep aromatics
Chard 2005 Luca Catena Mendoza Very good
Chard 2006 Lis Neris Friuli Jurosa unique, elegant
Chard 2005 Lynmar Russian River Hugh Chappelle Quite good, new fave?
Chard 2005 Lynmar Quail Hill Estate Hugh Chappelle Very nice, fine, amazing
Chard 2004 Mon Lis Santa Lucia Highlands Sleepy Hollow vyd Leesy and rich
Chard 2004 Mueller Winery Russian River LB My fave
Chard 2006 Neyers Vineyards Carneros Ehren Jordan Big and complex
Chard 2006 Neyers Vineyards Napa Ehren Jordan Exceptional wine
Chard 2005 Seresin NZ Estate Spicy, leesy chard
Chard 2005 Taft Street Winery Russian River Good expression
Chard 2005 Taft Street Winery Sonoma Star winner
Chard 2005 Talley Vineyards Arroyo Grande Estate Leslie Mead Good leesy chard
Chard 2004 Wolffer Estate Vineyard The Hamptons, L.I. Very complex, Wow!

Chard 2004 Wolffer Estate Vineyard The Hamptons, L.I. Estate Selection Wow, how nice is this?
Chard/Viognier 2007 Nieto Senetiner Mendoza Don Nicanor Nice $12 pour
Chassagne-Montrachet 2004 Maltroye Bourgogne Clos St. Jean Starred chard
Corton-Charlemagne 2005 Vincent Girardin Bourgogne Excellent

The Grapes from A-Z

Carménère

Once a major blending grape in Bordeaux it was believed to be wiped out in the phylloxera outbreak of 1850’s. Good news; the grape survived years in South America misidentified as Merlot. The French had the foresight to send many vines to the newest world and have imbued the continent with a wonderful array of original rootstock. And y’all thought Malbec was the luckiest grape out there…
So Carménère is inky and powerful like a good Merlot and has a silkiness and voluptuous aspect that allows me to fully embrace this grape even without a profound bottle to recommend. Keep tasting and perhaps we will find just for what we search. I do have a couple worth drinking however, try them and let me know what you think. Cheers! CS.

Carménère 2005 DeMartino Legado Chile 10.00 30 33% ALLIED
Carménère 2006 Santa Carolina Rapel Valley Reserva 7 25 28% FEDWAY

The Grapes from A-Z

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is a bit lighter and rounder than Cabernet Sauvignon and has a different note of wood to it that I find easy to identify and is best expressed in the wines of the Loire. Chinon comes to mind, the Clos D’Isoré most specifically is my favorite vineyard, Olga Raffault the maker of choice. Yes, I agree it came from the Bordeaux region, but it loves the cool moist climate of the Loire valley, and the bordelaise blend it into anonymity, the exception proving the rule.
The fifth element indeed… As one of the cinq cépages*, it reaches its apogee in Cheval Blanc, itself one of the greatest of Bordeaux. Bourriquot, French slang for a donkey, a vin d’ homage from Havens of California is a must buy whenever it is found. Not nearly as polished or elegant as the name so aptly implies, the makers had the courage and foresight to attempt such a blend, and the sense of humor to reflect the outcome en Française.
I have found a most pleasant wine from Long Island, N.Y. Wolfer Estate has made a long-term commitment to Cabernet Franc and have done a noteworthy job of it. Pair the wine with a Long Island duck and a sampling of great produce available on the island for a great statement on local/green dining. I have done the very thing; perhaps I will share the menu with you one day.
Recommendations;
Cab/Cab Franc/Merlot 2003 Havens+ California Black and Blue Buy this 89pts
Cab Franc/Merlot 2002 Havens+ California Bourriquot Blue and black fruits
Gristina Vineyards on Long Island and most wineries beginning with ‘P’ for great Cab Franc…
*i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.
+ Sadly, Havens is no more…great guys making great wines is not enough I guess.

The Grapes from A-Z

Baga
Perhaps one of the most widely planted grapes in Portugal, the Baga or Tinta Barraida can be a long-aged wine due to high tannins and acidity. An important aspect in the Porto trade it can be overbearing in the varietal market.

Nothing to recommend.

The Grapes from A-Z

Baco (Blanc, Noir)
Named for a famed French nurseryman the Baco Blanc was hybridized to solve the reluctance of Folle Blanche to grafting. Folle Blanche was the primary grape for Armagnac but was reduced by the phylloxera outbreak. Baco Blanc is now replaced by Ugni Blanc as the grape for Armagnac. Baco Noir was created from Folle Blanche and a wild vitus riparia in 1894 and never really took hold although it was widely planted in France. There are vines in the Eastern United states and Canada and I have sampled several desultory wines from this ignoble grape…Stick with the vitus vinifera if you want classic wine flavor profiles. Nothing to recommend.

The Grapes from A-Z

Bacchus
Aside from being my Lord and savior, Bacchus is the name of a German white grape created from the crossing of Silvaner x Riesling x Muller-Thurgau varieties. It is a blending grape that is valued in Qba blends. I have yet to see it mentioned on any label and can only assume it is filler that quality wines do not possess. It is for some strange reason the fourth most planted grape in England, which speaks volumes concerning the quality it represents. Cheers. Sorry, no recommendations as of Sep. 2011.

The Grapes from A-Z

Bonarda

Ah, Bonarda…Oh, I know it’s a little known grape variety but that’s because it is hard to ripen and rarely grown in Italy anymore. Given the limited growing season of its homeland of Italy, the years that it may fully ripen are limited. My research has revealed three varieties in Italy and two of them are not Bonarda. What the hell did I just say? Bonarda grown in the Otrepo Pavese and Colli Piacentini is actually Croatina . Bonarda Novarese is in fact Uva Rara. This leaves us with the Bonarda Piemontese, a virtually non-existent borderline survivor. I have tried a Bonarda grown in the Russian River region and found it wanting. Even in sunny California it hasn’t found a home yet. (Just wondering if any Bonarda survive in Zinfandel (primitivo) plots?) So my only good experience with Bonarda is due to the marketing power of the Argentines. No, that’s not right, it’s due to the excellent wine making ability of the Argentines, the marketers be damned. And just in case you were feeling like you’ve wrapped your head around this grape, Jancis Robinson’s Encyclopedia of wine concludes the Bonarda entry with…”some authorities believe Argentine Bonarda is in fact the variety known as Charbbono.” Bacchus, give me strength!
Recommended wines;
The Bonarda/Syrah blend by Susan Balbo is the inspiration behind this treatise. The Bonarda was so thick and rich that they had to blend it with Syrah so it would pour from the bottle. Not really, but that is exactly the flavor profile of this everyday pour. I believe I poured this at $8/glass to great effect. Those lovers of New World fruit and Old World grapes will be very happy.
For those who want more of this kind of wine I have to refer you to Tikal and the Patriota Blend of Bonarda 60% and Malbec 40% for a fleshy, saturated, juicy hedonistic journey of a wine. Yes, another New World wine. Perhaps the Old World is not changing and therefore requires no reportage, hmmm, the lovers of Lafite will not be swayed by my prose, so I report for thee. And thou art drinking big, bold, character driven wine and so I will search out the finest for thee and thine. Keerist I gotta stop with that antiquated olde English crap. So to summarize…
2008 Crios de Susana Balbo Syrah Bonarda $12/bottle 3/22/11
2008 Tikal Patriota $20/bottle 3/22/11

The Wines from A-Z

Le Beaujolais

There is absolutely nothing wrong with well-chosen Beaujolais. Bad marketing is at fault. It has stained the honour of a region wherein reside honourable men who create traditional ageworthy Cru Beaujolais. Wines from Morgon have been confused with Bourgogne Rouge. I'll never forget the inky purple blackness of the 1995 Morgon from Henry Fessy's Domaine de Calot. It could have been Rhône-grown it was so rich. On one occasion a business meeting was animated and needed moderating so I quietly poured a Juliénas, again from Fessy, and as I poured my own glass and sat to enjoy it I noticed the room had become quiet. All eyes turned from their stems to mine in awe and apreciation as they raised their glasses to good wine, good friends, good god y'all, hunh!
Like all of my in depth studies, we're gonna look at this region from a standpoint that terroir, the taste of site, if you will is primary. The French recognize this and so have nomenclature, which reflects this. Pretty much from North to South the Cru Beaujolais run thus…St-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnié, Brouilly, and Côte de Brouilly. This is the fabled land of the Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc grape. It is rumored that small amounts of Chardonnay and Aligoté are bottled as Beaujolais Blanc and Beaujolais-Villages Blanc, but I have yet to taste these rarities. So we will only concern ourselves with this noble red grape and with the finest producers. Passing attention only for the generic Beaujolais as well as the next step up in quality namely Beaujolais-Villages. I am going to ignore the faddish craze of Beaujo-Nouveau as it is rarely worth our time and partly responsible for the low esteem in which the real Beaujolais is held.
Beaujo is not just wine from the Gamay grape grown in the hilly granite vineyards of France. It is a result of traditional winemaking practises such as the whole bunch hand harvested grapes that result in carbonic maceration. The bottom grapes give off carbon dioxide as they ferment and this gas bubbles up through the topmost bunches and leads to intracellular fermentation. This technique coaxes exotic aromas and refreshing fruit flavors from a simple grape. The must is pressed and added to the free run juice and malolactic fermentation occurs. Luxury cuvées get cask ageing and if they are fortunate hand bottling. The vast majority of the wine is to be consumed within a year or two and is to be treated like water. Enjoyed not fawned over.
recommended wines:
Pick your way through the Dubeouf selections and demand Fessy!

The Grapes A-Z

Barbera

Blackberries are the first fruit descriptor that pops into my mind. Ripe tannins with a touch of leather whip the wine into shape. The bright acidity without over concentration of flavor or body makes this a great match to the Piemontese fare of its origin or useful anywhere that subtle, complimentary wines are appreciated. Not the noblest of grapes, surely it’s outshone by Nebbiolo and Sangiovese but Barbera is still a most pleasant drink for Everyman.
Recommended wines;
Of course the only Barbera I have on my recommended list is the most gorgeous example created by the master Bruno Giacosa. The sweet and long beauty is crazy expensive and can be searched under the Falleto label, the 2005 to be precise. I believe it will run you anywhere from $60 to $100 depending on rent, greed, etc.
Not to be confused with the Nebbiolo based Barbaresco, or Barolo also of the Piedmont.

The Grapes A-Z

Arbois

Obscure white variety from the Loire which graces Cheverny and Valencay. Legally it can be included in Touraine and Vouvray. A.k.a. as Menu Pineau and/orPetit Pineau. Cheers, CS.
Recommended wines;
None yet reported, probably never will.

The Grapes A-Z

Amurensis

This is an alleged habitué of Northern China and so is known for its hardiness. I say alleged because I have never seen it or tasted it but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Something Greek and elegiac in the name, Amurensis, no? Cheers, CS.
Recommended wines;
None yet reported

The Grapes from A-Z

Auxerrois

I include Auxerrois in two varieties. First, as the a.k.a. of the black grape Malbec in the Cahors region, and secondly as a white grape from Alsace. Further obfuscation occurs when one considers the Auxerrois Gris, a synonym for Pinot Gris and Auxerrois Blanc as Chardonnay’s label in the Moselle region.
Malbec as Auxerrois, or Cot is a contributor to Cahors and is responsible for some rustic, full flavored red wine. Tannat and Merlot are allowed but no more than 30% of the final blend.
Auxerrois in Alsace is a hidden white grape, rarely appearing on a wine label, it does yeoman duty as filler for Pinot Blanc and Edelzwicker, the white blend. , Cheers, CS.
Recommended wines;
None appear in my current selections, sorry.

The Grapes from A-Z

Aubun

I wish I loved Aubun because it is a decidedly rare, black-berried grape, found mostly in southern France. But the reality is it’s been outperformed by Counoise and Carignan, which it resembles, albeit in a lesser way and therefore is doomed. Can’t win ‘em all, Cheers, CS.
Recommended wines;
None, sorry

The Wines from A to Z

Amarone

I love Amarone because of the rich thick raisinous, port-like, sometimes botrytized country beauty of Italian heritage. Amarone, like Valpolicella (whence they both abide) are a blend of Corvina, Molinara and Rondinella varieties. These grapes are dried to the vignerons specifications, whether hung or racked or just left in the boxes and then vinified. The result is a true ‘cult’ wine that garners ferocious devotees rather than a polite mass appeal. There is something primal and Dionysian when I contemplate in the Amarone mode. Perhaps the bug will bite you, Cheers, CS.
Recommended wines;
Amarone 1997 Bertani Italy Love me some mature Amarone
Amarone 2004 Zenato Veneto DOC Starred

Allegrini makes a profound Amarone but I can’t find the entry in my database, praise Darwin I have the back-up here in my head…
Amarone 2004 Righetti Italy Everyday drinking level, lighter styled
Amarone 2001 Allegrini Valpolicella Holiday wine, all generous and giving!

Glass of Italy

Due to fortunate circumstances, I was invited to a private tasting at The Hudson Hotel, NYC last Tuesday. So hip, there is no sign on the 58th St. entrance...so hipster that I'm forced to don my reading glasses to find the 24th floor button in the elevator. After the cavern-like 'lobby' the tasting is outdoors under a sun tent with views of the Jersey rive gauche, a breezy late spring affair high above the hustle down below. Let's get to the wine.
I run through the whites first, as usual, and this takes but a few minutes as there are not too many here today. Bingo, the first wine is a winner, juicy without being over-fruity or sweet the Trebbiano-Chardonnay blend Rubicone IGT, Terre Forti 2010 was raised in the Northwest of Italy in Emilia-Romagna. If priced well, that is to say in the $10 range (wholesale), I could pour this to great effect. The effect being pleasure for the guest and profit for the resto owner. It went downhill from there with but a Pinot Grigio and a Muller-Thurgau of no distinction, c'est la guerre.
The red wines fared well with a few exceptional works, which is all that interests me nowadays. Life is too short and brutish to waste it drinking average wine so there is my raison d'etre, et voila here are my choices for the next Italian wine list.
From the Terre De Trinci Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG 2004 offers up a deep and rich wine that screams for a cheese board. Wild berries and leathery tannins combine to create a flavor profile that pairs well with game and beef.
Marco Donati made one hell of a Teroldego in 2009. The Rotaliano DOC is carried on full, ripe berry flavors intermingled with savory herbs and the acidity/tannins prominent but in balance. Head and shoulders above yer average Teroldego, cheers.
The Cantina Di Villa has taken the Nebbiolo grape to great heights by pressing the grapes in January after drying the berries. After a long period of skin submersion during maceration, which is how they get all the flavor in the wine, it is aged for at least 36 months followed by 6 months cave rest in bottle. Result is a wine I know you are gonna love. Okay so there is a touch of fruit on the palate and it leans to the International Style that is taking over, whatcha gonna do but go with the flow, yes, Tom Wolfe was right after all, or was it Ken Kesey of the Merry Pranksters? Whatever, this is a premium wine well worth the $40 retail or $70 on the wine list price. Sforzato Di Valtina DOCG Tinaia 2006, really fine fruits and spice in balance, excellent.
While but a small gathering of producers the results were un-characteristically good. I'll keep you informed of some new wines as I find them...til then, cheers!

Wine Grapes from A to Z

Aligoté


A wine whose main purpose in life is to be fodder for Kir, well, then a sorry life it is. I vaguely remember my enamel being burned off my teeth as I sipped a p’tit ver d’enfer, bien sûr. So let the French in your life take care of all those pesky details, stick with what you know. It has the distinction of being Burgundy’s second white grape behind the much more profitable chardonnay. Bouzeron, proud little city that it is, champions the cause of Aligoté and thus has strict limits on production. Cheers, to them.

Sorry, nothing to recommend.

Wine Grapes from A to Z

Alicante Bouchet


Can’t say I love this grape on its own merit. Perhaps I have had it in Sonoma on one of my Wine Adventures, however I have heard of it and as I refreshed my memory with some light research my eyes glazed over and I thought of an exceptional wine grown not far from here in these very hillsides…Alicante Bouchet, really? Why not champion Cabernet Franc or Tempranillo if you want to stand and fight. Or perhaps you were curious about an obscure grape variety and wanted a thumbnail on said grape. Sorry, It is widely grown in southern France, regions of Spain and hither and yon to no great effect. I will report back here immediately should a profound specimen one day be found!

Sorry, nothing to recommend.

Wine Grapes from A to Z

Arneis


I love Arneis because of the almond and citrus flavors laced with a bright crisp acidity. Associated primarily with Roero, the Italian prefecture whence comes this fetching under-appreciated variety, Arneis has found a fan in Ken Wright, Oregon’s Pinot Noir pioneer. I implore you to try Arneis instead of the usual pinot grigio. Try ANYTHING but pinot grigio, if we all protest this way the restaurateurs will be forced to offer wines of merit and character for our summer fare instead of the vapid insipid choices they invariably make. How about Tocai Friulano or Falanghina or better yet a classic Soave from Leonildo Pieropan? Hnh? Demand more consumers, demand quality! Cheers, CS.
Recommended wines;
Arneis Blanghé Langhe Ceretto Lemony, mineral -laden and dry
Arneis '98 Napa L'uvaggio di Giacomo Nice change of pace

Wine Grapes from A to Z

Albariño


I love Albariño (a.k.a. alvarinho in Portugal’s northern region of Vinho Verde), because of the lemony lightness of its being. The Gallician answer to “What wine goes with shellfish and lighter apps?” A thick-skinned grape with peach aromas and flavors of stone fruit and citrus, it can be high in alcohol and acidity. Still attractively priced despite its increasing popularity in the states, look to Martin Codax, Pazo de Senorans for the finest from year to year. Añada is an aged Albariño of great merit, truly worth the extra money. Rias Baixas is the region of Spain from which Albariño is grown. My notes follow.
Albariño 2005 Quinta de Couselo Rias Baixas Exceptional wine
Albariño 2007 Burgans Rias Baixas More character than most
Albariño 2005 Finca de Arantei Rias Baixas Nice spicy number
Albariño 2005 Havens Napa Unique kinda wine
Albariño 2006 Laxas Rias Baixas Crisp, apple like acidity, long finish
Albariño 2005 Abadia de San Campio Rias Baixas Alluring, special wine
Albariño 2007 Pazo de Senorans Rias Baixas Zesty, alive, wild
Albariño 2003 Pazo de Senorans Rias Baixas Anada 30 months in tanks !!!

Back in Charlottesville

It’s been around ten years since I’ve been back here and this place is not ready to stop changing. I was on parental duty this trip as I brought my son to UVA (The University of Virginia) for the first year’s orientation. We were here for last year’s Fall Fling on an introductory visit but I didn’t have time to explore then. Boyo liked the University fine enough, applied and was accepted, hoorah. I dropped young Adonis off for the day’s program and went looking up old haunts.
The old standby, The Blue Moon Diner is bigger and hip as ever. A new generation has embraced the place and it feels relevant and funky and I reminisce about when I met LeRoi Moore here back in ’84 or so. We were having breakfast and looking for roommates or a band or something. We hit it off from the start as we were both wanderers and shared fond memories of Brooklyn and funk and jazz and such which began a friendship that lasted 25 years or so. Damn, I miss him. The Moon is now the local gathering spot for a fine weekday brunch, you know, breakfast for musicians, waiters and night-shifters all. Beer is consumed here with the huevos rancheros, my kind of place. Yeah, but now the Blue Moon serves Cerdon de Bugey and we just buried LeRoi and it’s hard not to get misty when I put those thoughts together like that. This is more than a travelogue with restaurant reviews so give me some latitude here, okay. This place was the epicenter of the C’Ville music scene more than 20 years ago. Johnny Casual and the Sport Coats, Public Service, TR3, Point of Departure and most famously then, the Skip Castro Band, all could be found at the Blue Moon at some point in a day.
The Blue Moon is located just down the block from another must visit resto, Zinc so let’s mosey on over there. Zinc is a tastefully refurbished Francophile gas station that bills itself as a gastropub. I dig it. Call it what you will, it puts out affordable small plates with a simple efficiency I find appealing. The first night I sat at the bar and drank my way through the wines by the glass, four plates and it was $60 with 20% tip!
Pleased to see a Viognier offered, I ordered it with a plate of White Asparagus. Perhaps just butter, salt, and pepper were added to the nutty tasting, tender shoots, in one word, exquisite. (A healthy start I was thinking, The Wife will be proud of me). Next, I just had to order the scallops and really, really wanted an Alsatian Pinot Gris to match it but settled for a most compelling Pinot Grigio. The three scallops would be an entrée in NYC and would cost two or three times the C’ville price, nice. Oh yeah, they were quite good, really. Firm, sweet flesh simply prepared and seared just so.
Brussels sprouts were sautée with bacon, onion and duck stock. More healthy food in an appealing triptych of sweet/salt/fat, yeah.
Broccoli was simply steamed and served with butter, a perfect four dollar side.
I passed on the Welsh Rarebit aptly dressed in Caerphilly cheese, but was happy to see quaint simple fare remembered. I imagine the tangy cheese was the traditional cheese for the job anyhoo.
The Mac and Cheese was done in a modern style with Gruyére cheese and a béchamel sauce finished with a garlic and parsley bread crumb topping. A rich and flavorful take on an American classic without greasy weight, or truffle oil. (Sorry, Ian)
Pan Seared Grouper was another astute choice of yours truly as the moist and tender white fish was perfectly cooked and matched to a roasted pepper tapenade with succulent bits of olive that transported me to a fishing village in Calabria, wow. The table concurs and orders another grouper at $11, nicely done.
The Trout filet was also pan seared but was dressed in a nut crust with butternut squash sautée. The crunchy skin added yet another crucial element as the crust was lightly applied in order that the subtle fish flavor be not abused.
Moving on to rosé, I dove into a rather coarsely cut Steak Tartare, accompanied by the requisite toast points, mustard and cornichons, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Okay, maybe it was a touch bland and lacked a quail’s egg, but I would order it again.
The Pork Belly might have been renamed but it was the highlight for me as it was a meaty, crunchy, perfectly cooked oeuvre that I scarfed down with a perverse delight.
I went for a bottle of Priorat as the wine list promised sweet fruit with subtle tannins. A perfect wine for the table and at $36 just the wine for me. Nothing like old-vine Garnacha for a great value but the complexity and seamless backbone spoke of Carignon and yes, a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon, truly an ‘international’ wine, from the composition of the grapes to its sweet, long finish.
I would love to tell you how tender and juicy was the duck breast, all seared to a golden perfection and coated in a dried cherry demi-glâce, but Boyo didn’t offer and I wasn’t risking a hand for a taste of duck. Hell, I’ve had duck before, right?
The only miss in three nights serious grazing was a rushed attempt at a Tarte Tatin. The cook neglected to caramelize the apples and sugar and left me with a raw mess. I was what, five glasses into it so I sent it back with the admonishment for whoever was responsible to “read the book again”. Granted I was an inebriated and spoiled twit but my buddy Marco, of Russian Tea Room fame, can kill you with a Tarte Tatin. Hell, this is a world-class place and I expect seamless quality even in C’ville. I drowned my pitiful sorrows in a local Late Harvest Viognier, yet another reason to return.
The wines were adequate and good examples of the variety and/or varietal. However, I was not able to recognize any profound wines nor was I steered to such. As they poured Viognier both dry and late harvest, it saves them from mediocrity, but just barely. There are killer wines out there at affordable prices, they just need to look harder. Or maybe there is no one with the experience or talent to find and promote great wine. Not everyone has the access that I have. So let’s cut them some slack and hope the learning curve is not too steep.
Yes, I will return and not soon enough I’m afraid. There was a Cassoulet at the bottom of the menu that has had me regretting not ordering the beloved confit of duck leg luxuriating in its stew of Great Northern beans and country ham.
Honestly, the wild-caught shrimp with saffron basmati rice, chorizo and harissa aioli might be the starter next visit. Thoughtfully conceived dishes realized with simplicity of execution is a hallmark of great cooking. Witness this for yourself when next you visit Charlottesville.
I still find it remarkable this is the same town I left nigh on these twenty years. But then I’m hardly the same man that rushed back to NYC from this jewel in the Blue Ridge.CS10/08

Wine Jeopardy

Ahh, the guessing game…I remember the rather well dressed piker attempting to sneak in a carafe of fine wine. "Remember the corkage fee", I remind the waiter as I nod to the not so sneaky dude at the banquette. I make sure he has the right glasses for his wine and so appear with a quartet of the large Bordeaux stems in hand. When he offered a glass to me with a healthy splash of an obviously richly extracted red wine, well, what could I say? The near opacity of the wine gave me an initial clue as to the body of the wine. I gave my professional swirl and tilted the glass filled with heady aromas and inhaled a well-measured lung-full of air over ‘round and through my dendritic receptors located so strategically in my vast and cavernous nasal/sinus system. “Mmmm, this is a fine wine from Bordeaux” I venture. The ladies at the table twitter and prattle, “Oh, he know it is from Bordeaux”, in her charming but imprecise Anglais. A good start, a fairly typical bouquet with the telltale cedar aromas led me to the visceral conclusion that this indeed is classic claret in my hand. I sip noisily and slosh and swallow letting the full experience of the finish progress. The gentleman was warming to the occasion and proffered this, “As one attempts to deal with vintage let us start with the decade. His logic led me to the conclusion that though this wine is in no way tired or fading it is most certainly not of a recent vintage. It did not have the monster quality of the ’90, nor did it possess the elegant austere, and to me the quintessential air of claret that is the signature of the '89 growth. Blocky and square-jawed like the '88’s it was not. Regal, plump and perfect are my thoughts on the '85 wines, no this was something different. This had obvious breeding and Left Bank sensibilities but a power and finesse that I do not often get to taste. “This wine was born in the eighties and furthermore this is from the 1982 vintage”, perhaps I wasn’t so confidant as all that, but I knew this was greatness and it is not a bad thing to cajole the guests from time to time. The look in the gentleman’s eye told me I was three for three.
I am lingering much too long at this table. Fine, if I was ‘just’ the sommelier, but I am the floor manager as well and must move more quickly than this.
Okay, I am thinking this is one of those ‘old dude’ wines that I am unwilling to pay $150 or more for the prestige and old-world charm of a classic growth Bordeaux. I’ll pay for Quintessa or Insignia before I drop a bundle on many of these archaic old chateau wines. That being said, this wine kicks! If more folk had the opportunity to taste this wine, there would be a lot more people who love it but can’t pay the price. So, and then…
Dammit, I have stated that it is 1982 Bordeaux from the Left Bank and I still have the one guess left. I don’t want to be wrong now, as I have done well with the education I have given myself. I have never experienced this wine before so now I must truly guess.
“My last guess is that this is from Latour”, I venture gamely.
I must be satisfied with an average of .750 as I whiff on the 1982 Chateau Mouton Lafite. The epitome of ‘old dude’ wine dressed up in a new suit driving a Z-3, sure fooled me. I thanked the gentleman profusely for allowing me to play such a wonderful game, "Won’t you come back often, this was fun". For that ‘education’ I whip out my Manager's card and take the corkage fee off of his bill. I mean, it was already decanted and all, yes? CS

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