One Bottle Post: 2000 CHÂTEAU DUCRU BEAUCAILLOU

September 14, 2018 by evebushman Leave a Comment

So this just happened. My husband Eddie told me that we have at least six bottles of 2000 Bordeaux that he was pulling from our cellar to drink. Oh boy, one more reason I made the best choice ever in marrying this guy. Anyway, being the anal compulsive that I am I logged into my Wine Spectator account to see if these wines were ready to drink, in their opinion.

Photo: WineBuyers.com

To me, anything over ten years old is plenty of age on a Bordeaux, and it’s hard to wait longer anyway! I looked up all six and each had not only maintained a 90+ score, five had doubled in price when sold at auction. All were noted to drink from 2010 to 2023. Now sounded good to me. These are the six:

CHÂTEAU DUCRU BEAUCAILLOU

CHÂTEAU PICHON LONGUEVILLE LALANDE

CHÂTEAU RAUZAN-GASSIES

CHÂTEAU MARGAUX

CHÂTEAU MONTROSE

CHÂTEAU PONTET-CANET

Now this could be a six-part series of one-bottle posts, if I can drink them with a notepad, pen and little distraction. Chances are some will be served at dinner parties when I’ll only be able to simply enjoy. You just have to check back to see…

And now to start, we opened our first:

2000 CHÂTEAU DUCRU BEAUCAILLOU

Tasting Notes

Color: Beautiful garnet color stretching out to show a bit of brown (due to age) on the edge.

Bouquet: Right off the bat we found the wine more “multi-dimensional” and “complex” than a younger Bordeaux, stateside or import. I noted aromas of plum, blackberry, blueberry, toasted French bread, dried leaves, dark chocolate, green peppercorn and chocolate-covered biscuit.

Flavor: A perfect balance of fruit and spice. Starting with a fresh bowl of red, blue and black fruit, smoke, char and medium tannins that provided a lengthy finish. My husband remarked that there were no bitter qualities and that the mouthfeel was velvety. We lingered over the bottle and noted that after 15 minutes in the glass the bouquet and flavor had developed even further with darker deeper notes, more earth and that same tannin backing off a bit quicker – still doing the job – but allowing for a even longer finish.

96 Eve pts.

From Wine Spectator (online)

St.-Julien 2000

Score: 94

Release Price $105

Current Auction Price $204

Country France

Region Bordeaux

Issue Web Only – 2016

Tasting Note: This has mature hints, but there’s great focus as the cedar, bay and leather notes race along with, rather than pull away from, the core of fig and blackberry fruit flavors. The long, bittersweet cocoa—dusted finish provides a solid bass line.–Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2023. –JM

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com

One Bottle Post: 2000 CHÂTEAU PICHON LONGUEVILLE LALANDE

September 7, 2018 by evebushman Leave a Comment

When I visited Chateau Pichon Longueville during a family vacation to France a few years back, it was a dream come true to tour and taste at this incredible Chateau, and you can read about that visit here in this article: Wine 101ers Dream Part IV: Visiting Bordeaux’s Château Pichon Baron.

Now come to find that it was time – according to my husband, aka the keeper of the cellar door key – to open a 2000 vintage of my own from the same Chateau. My mouth was set to watering mode.

This is one of six articles I hope to do on a total of six 2000 vintage Bordeaux wines we removed from my cellar that are ready to be opened with care, decanted with a strainer and tasted over some very nice long meals.

Photo: Vinous.com

2000 CHÂTEAU PICHON LONGUEVILLE LALANDE

Tasting Notes

Color: Clear, a youthful red garnet with a scant brown edge.

Bouquet: Perfumy, worn leather, crushed berries, dust, cedar, toasted marshmallow, cigarette, green bell pepper and what a good wine friend tasting the wine with me found on the nose: green olive tapenade. Interesting, right?

Flavor: Tart berries, smoke, a big round mouthfeel and with firm tannins that held for a lush long finish.

Pairing: We enjoyed this wine with the seemingly several-foot long cheese and charcuterie “Valley Board” – with olives, nuts, honeycomb, pears, grapes, chorizo, prosciutto, Brie, cheddar, Manchego and more – at the Newhall Press Room. From there the wine also worked perfectly with rich Bolognese pasta and rare filet.

94 Eve pts.

From Wine Spectator (online)

Score: 95

Release Price $130

Current Auction Price $227

Country France

Region Bordeaux

Issue Web Only – 2016

Tasting Note

This has pronounced bay and cassis bush aromas that impart lots of peppery and herbaceous lift, but this is hardly on the lean side as there’s a well of gorgeously pure currant and blackberry fruit notes at the core. The finish is sleek and glistening as an iron note takes over.–Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2028.

–JM

5StarWines Proclaimed Over 600 International Treasures – Scoring 90+

May 17, 2018 by evebushman Leave a Comment

Verona, Italy (PRWEB) – On April 13th, the third edition of 5StarWines came to a close at wine2digital, Verona. Organised by Vinitaly, 5StarWines is a three-day tasting aiming at shedding light on wineries investing in the improvement of their products. During the event, a highly qualified panel of wine professionals tastes and gives score on a 100-point scale to more than 2.700 wines.

Under the guidance of Vinitaly International Managing Director Stevie Kim and Vinitaly International Academy Scientific Director Ian D’Agata, the international team of judges is led by 3 General Chairmen: Bernard Burtschy, president of the French Wine Press; Robert Joseph, Editor at Large for Meininger’s Wine Business International; and Spanish Master of Wine Pedro Ballesteros Torres. Main task of the Chairmen is to re-taste wines with an initial score of 90, that is the score a wine needs to be published on 5StarWines-The Book. On the selection he chaired for two years in a row, Joseph commented, “There are new producers, new regions, and new grapes every year. I just love being here, discovering all these flavours, and then go on to Vinitaly to meet the actual people that produced them and understand why and how they are making these wines.” Ballesteros Torres, who finds 5StarWines enriching from a personal point of view, added, “I think it is a great opportunity for the Italian wines participating. 5StarWines is a major tool for Italian producers because they will have the chance to have a feedback from top level experts from all over the world. Another quality of the event is that while tasting, judges get the chance talk with each other, creating an environment of exchange and growth.”

5StarWines-The Book is a wine-guide including all the wines selected at 5StarWines that aims at giving visibility to worthy wineries. A special feature of the guide (and of the event) is Wine Without Walls, a section solely dedicated to wines either without added sulphites or wines with total quantity of sulphites (naturally produced and added ones) not higher than 50mg/l. Chaired by biodynamic wine expert Monty Waldin, Wine Without Walls gives recognition to the growing importance and relevance of natural wines. In the case of Wine Without Walls, the tasting’s assessment criteria are not numerical but rather descriptive like liveliness, individuality, sense of place, etc. Regine Lee, Head of Customer Business Support at Liberty Wines and one of the judges of the Wine Without Walls section observed, “WWW is a really interesting opportunity for us to valuate a lot of natural wines through quantitative and qualitative assessments that really look at whether the wine is of quality or not. US judges are able to look across wide diversity styles, mostly Italians, and I think it’s a really nice way to understand what makes natural wines particularly good and whether they can be judged in themselves or across wines as a whole.”

Coming from all over Italy, California, Argentina and other countries, the wines participating at this edition of 5StarWines were around 2700, 500 more than last year’s. Out of these 2700, more than 600 scored more than 90 out of 100 and therefore will make it on The Book.

For the second year in a row Italy stood out as one of the best producers at the selection, with Cantine del Notaio Soc.Agr. A R.L. taking home the “Best Winery of the Year – Gran Vinitaly 2018”. Worth a mention is the fact that this year, the selected 5 star wines will also be indicated as 5StarWines on Wine-Searcher’s online listings, one of the most famous web search engines for wine. Moreover, The 5StarWines label will also feature on the Vinitaly App during and after Vinitaly ,for all buyers and trade.

You can see the complete list of wines on http://www.5starwines.it/

About
The grand Vinitaly 2018 will be held from April 15th to the 18th. Every year, Vinitaly counts more than 4,000 exhibitors on a 100,000+ square meter area and 130,000 visitors from over 140 different countries with more than 30,000 top international buyers. The premier event to Vinitaly, OperaWine (https://www.vinitalyinternational.com/?page_id=646) “Finest Italian Wines: 100 Great Producers,” which will be held on the 14th of April, one day prior to Vinitaly will unite international wine professionals in the heart of Verona, offering them the unique opportunity to discover and taste the wines of the 100 Best Italian Producers, as selected by Wine Spectator. Since 1998 Vinitaly International travels to several countries such as Russia, China, USA and Hong Kong thanks to its strategic arm abroad, Vinitaly International. In February 2014 Vinitaly International launched an educational project, the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) with the aim of divulging and broadcasting the excellence and diversity of Italian wine around the globe. VIA this year launched the third edition of its Certification Course and today counts 122 Italian Wine Ambassadors and 9 Italian Wine Experts.

PERLIS PICKS: NAPA AT LAST LIGHT

April 28, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

The book Napa at Last Light by James Conaway was very hard to read. Not because it was poorly written. Far from it. Mr. Conaway is an excellent writer, having authored thirteen books as well as having been published in numerous magazines. This book, subtitled “America’s Eden in an Age of Calamity”, is the most recent installment of what is called his Napa trilogy, which started with Napa: The Story of an American Eden and continued with The Far Side of Eden: New Money, Old Land, and the Battle for Napa Valley.

So when I say it is hard to read, it is because the third volume, unlike a certain other famous trilogy, reads like “Sauron” is on his way to winning and that is sad.

Not one to pull punches, Conaway writes about the large corporate interests as well as the millionaire vanity vintners who threaten to take over Napa Valley, using up its twin scarce resources of land and water in the search to produce the next high scoring Cabernet. Providing much detail about the political intrigue and machinations involved, he’s not afraid to name names either. [I’ll leave those for the reader to discover.]

Personally, I wish he would have spent more time on people like Steve Matthiasson, who emerges in the book [to continue the analogy from above] as a possible real-life “Frodo Baggins”, or perhaps more aptly “Samwise Gamgee”. There are a few other heroes presented as well, probably most notably Randy Dunn of Dunn Vineyards.

I’m not naïve enough to suggest that development is all bad and that money is the root of all evil. Personally, Napa is not our usual stomping ground, but in the wine regions that Karen and I frequent we’ve seen plenty of inroads from wealthy people who have caught the wine bug, as well as from corporate interests. We tend to favor the smaller wineries, some of which hang on by a shoestring. Yet, I’m not ashamed that some of our favorites are also from people who made their fortune in other walks of life and have the financial wherewithal to invest significantly in their winemaking operations.

I also believe that for smaller wineries to be successful, Direct-To-Consumer sales are critical, versus giving away profits in multi-tier distribution systems. But, DTC usually requires visitors and visitor facilities use land. And the addition of event centers enables wineries to attract more visitors and generate more revenue. Commerce, ultimately, is the end goal in order to keep the winery operations going.

But there is no denying the issues that Conaway discusses. Land and water are finite.

Climate change is real. And there are certain political forces at various levels of government that are seeking to reduce environmental protections.

Some people say that Mr. Conaway has gone too far. They say he only presents one side of the issues and doesn’t tell the whole story. Personally, I’m not qualified to judge. I do know that voices like James Conaway’s are important to keep the conversation going.

And while this is referred to as the final volume of the Napa trilogy, I’m hoping for at least one more installment – with some good news.

Napa at Last Light: America’s Eden in an Age of Calamity

By James Conaway

Michael Perlis has been pursuing his passion for wine for more than 25 years. He has had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show him the way, as well as a wonderful wife who encourages him and shares his interest. After a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as he possibly could, he had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Now, as Contributing Editor for Eve’s Wine 101, he does his best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers. Michael is also Vice President of Eve Bushman Consulting (fka Eve’s Wine 101 Consulting) http://evebushmanconsulting.com/ and President of MCP Financial. Michael can be contacted at michaelthezinfan@aol.com or michael@evebushmanconsulting.com.

Vintage Eve Circa 3/14: Minding My Mira

October 3, 2017 by evebushman Leave a Comment

It’s been awhile since I‘ve done one of my one-bottle posts. This time I was motivated as rating this wine tied into the new Eve’s Wine 101 Consulting venture I’ve created with my business partner Michael Perlis, and another winery, a new winery we happened to be working with.

This is when you ask, “Why? What’s the tie in between a wine review for one winery and another winery’s launch?”

Building Your Branding

At the same time that I received an email from Mira Winery (www.MiraNapa.com) offering me a bottle of their Napa Cab before its release so I could do a review – I was working with a winery client on getting their website and social networks all up to speed before their first wine is launched.

I forwarded Mira’s email to my winery client. I explained that here was a winery that wanted some reviews of their wine on the internet before the wine was released to the public. Why? Because when you Google the winery you will find reviews other places than the winery’s own website. And, the public might find the reviews – especially if the writer also social networks them like we do – and so the branding is magically being built.

Lets see if the plan worked.

Tasting Notes

Appearance

On outward observation alone the 2010 Napa Valley Mira Cabernet Sauvignon had one of those deep punts at the bottom that I like, a classy no-nonsense label and 14.5% alcohol. Once poured I noted that the color was dark purple and very opaque.

Aroma

From an inch away I could smell the robust plums, then I went in a little closer and got blackberry, Fig Newtons, black licorice, cracked black pepper, black olives, smoke and suede.

Flavor

Plum, black cherry, blackberry jam, dark chocolate, espresso beans, slightly minty and all with a nice tannin structure holding it together.

Conclusion, AKA Score

Very long finish. Thought this will go will with roasted meat, steaks, pasta, grilled sausages. It might be tough to have without food for people that prefer more berry fruit. I happen to like tannic wines, with or without food. If I had to score this wine, and I’m against scoring but most peeps just want a number, I’d give it a 90.

From the Winery

We at Mira Winery are excited to soon be releasing our 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon to the public! However, before we do we want to invite you to sample this luscious blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Syrah to see what you think and hopefully share your opinion! Of course it’s 100% Napa Valley.

As with our entire portfolio of wines, our 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon is crafted by our Winemaker Gustavo Gonzalez who was the head red winemaker for Robert Mondavi before leaving to lead Mira. Over a 20 year career he has worked with some of the most acclaimed winemakers around the world and is one of the few to produce 100 point rated wine. You can learn more about Mira at www.miranapa.com.

Kimo Sabe Mezcal Will Launch A Bold National Agave Spirit Taste-Test Challenge Vs The #1 Ultra-Premium Tequila & Oaxacan Style Mezcal

June 15, 2017 by evebushman Leave a Comment

Zacatecas, Mexico – Kimo Sabe, the award-winning, ultra-premium, and fastest growing mezcal brand, announced today its “Step Up to the New Taste of Agave” campaign – a 100,000 person, 10-city national consumer taste-test challenge –kicking off in Las Vegas in June. The challenge will pit Kimo Sabe, The New Taste of Mezcal against the best-selling ultra-premium tequila and a smoky ‘Oaxacan style’ mezcal.

The back to back (2016 & 2017) winner of the American Distilling Institute’s top honor, “Best In Class “ for all Agave Spirits, Kimo Sabe, is taking its taste-test challenge on the road to educate and inform agave drinkers nationwide on the breadth and depth of the agave taste experience. Launching in Las Vegas in June, Kimo Sabe will conduct a blind taste-test challenge with over 10,000 consumers, having them compare three top agave spirits – the best-selling tequila and ‘Oaxacan style’ smoky mezcal, and the disruptive new taste of agave, Kimo Sabe Mezcal. After sampling all three, consumers will be asked to rate their choices ‘good,’ ‘better,’ and ‘best.’

“We’re kicking off our challenge in Las Vegas, the party capital of the world, where visitors are looking to have fun, celebrate with their favorite spirit and are open to new experiences,” said Jim Walsh, co-founder and CEO of Kimo Sabe. “Our goal for the 10 city challenge is to create 100,000 Kimo Sabe brand ambassadors, because once sampled, agave spirit fans will make Kimo Sabe their new top shelf choice.”

Additional cities selected for the taste-test challenge include; Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Miami, and Minneapolis. 10,000 consumers will be targeted in each market.

The public has a growing love affair with the agave spirit category. Studies show tequila consumption has doubled over the past 7 years, with mezcal being the fastest growing segment of that category.

“Everyone who loves agave spirits will appreciate this opportunity to take our challenge and experience for themselves how Kimo Sabe is evolving the industry. Tasting is truly believing. Our rapid growth is creating opportunities for hundreds of agave growers in Mexico, who we are assisting in creating sustainable, organic, agave ecosystems that will last for generations. We proudly call this strategy Building Bridges – as it connects the Mexican agave growers to a generation of US consumers seeking their own defining liquor category,” states Ashley Kvamme, Co-founder of Kimo Sabe.

Veteran agri-business flavor specialists Jim Walsh and Ashley Walsh Kvamme, who come from the premium chocolate business, started Kimo Sabe in 2014 with the goal to create high quality, artisan distiller flavor experiences of the agave plant at a price point for everyone to enjoy. The result has been award winning mezcals that are full of flavor, balanced and approachable, and have consistently garnered 90+ scores by leading industry critics. The Company has grown by 500% over the last two years and is outpacing sales growth of the leading brands in all agave categories. The Company expects its sales to double the entire mezcal category within 24 months.

“We aim to educate consumers through a direct taste experience of the full continuum of flavors across ultra-premium agave categories,” says Jim Walsh. “Most consumers have a sense of tequila flavors, and some have experienced smoky mezcal’s, but few have ever experienced the elegance, complexity and beauty of the literally hundreds of flavors of agave. Agave spirits have the potential to be truly memorable, where single flavors, when blended artfully, combine to create never before tasted harmonic accords or ineffable notes of magic. Kimo Sabe does for agave what Johnny Walker does for Scotch, as it gives the consumer a range of the special notes available in the category all in one product. This is the embodiment of the art of blending and distilling. We are excited to be expanding the agave industry and by doing so helping hundreds of Mexican agave growers prosper sustainably.”

Kimo Sabe Mezcal is made from 100% varietal agaves of which there are 42 varieties, while tequila is made from one type. Each type of agave has its own distinct flavor, giving mezcal producers a greater ability to create their own unique spirit. Common distilling practices known as ‘Oaxacan style,’ have in the past yielded smoky mezcals which to date have had limited consumer acceptance. In expanding the appeal of mezcal, Kimo Sabe has developed a proprietary blend of many agave flavors, which is carefully blended and distilled, and finally enhanced with sound wave technology. This process harmonizes each molecule of the spirit – the result is the smoothest, most flavorful, agave spirit made today.

ABOUT KIMO SABE MEZCAL

Kimo Sabe, The New Taste of Mezcal, is led by agri-business veterans and company co-founders Jim Walsh (CEO) and Ashley Walsh Kvamme (COO). Its USA headquarters are based in Pasadena, California, with its distillery and agave fields in Zacatecas, Mexico. The brand launched on May 1, 2015. It currently sells a Joven and Reposado Mezcal, with brand extensions anticipated. The American Distilling Institute awarded Kimo Sabe its agave spirit’s category top honor, “Best In Class,” in both 2016 and 2017. Kimo Sabe is currently distributed in California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, Colorado, Florida and Tennessee and will soon be distributed in Illinois, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Maryland and Georgia

Kimo Sabe is committed to funding the creation of sustainable, varietal agave ecosystems in Mexico. They partnered with the Government of Zacatecas, Mexico to launch a pro-social program that will fund the creation of 100 new agave farms supplying 1,000 new jobs in the state. In March, Kimo Sabe became the official and exclusive mezcal of the SXSW Festival. Kimo Sabe is the title sponsor for all nationally televised episodes and live stream events of CBS Sports’ Poker Night in America. Ashley Walsh Kvamme was named one of the Top Women In Booze by Harper’s Bazaar Magazine this past year, and one of California’s top female entrepreneurs by Comerica Bank.