Bordeaux blend?

So, I think most everyone has heard the phrase "Bordeaux blend" on any number of occasions, whether talking about actual wines from the region or a wannabe from CA or Australia or elsewhere. Most of the time these wines are cabernet sauvignon based with maybe some merlot, cab franc or, rarely, malbec or petit verdot.

But what's missing here? What's missing is the 6th grape of good ol' Bordeaux, Carmenere. Many people do not know that Carmenere is the 6th blending grape of Bordeaux. The fact that it is legal, does not mean it is still commercially utilized. After the phylloxera catastrophe this varietal was not replanted. And this is not so surprising considering that the grape needs: warm temperatures, abundant sunshine and does well in a dry climate; none of which seem to appear on a regular basis in Bordeaux, at least until global warming struck.

Given that none of these criteria are found in Bordeaux on a regular basis, one can only assume that the winegrowers were popping too many corks when they made this one of the "approved" grapes for the region. This is borne out by the fact that the grape was not replanted after said catastrophe, and no one seems to have missed it in 100+ years. Apparently, it was never a large part of the blending process, and of even less importance.

Except that some prescient folks in Chile brought back numerous cuttings in the 19th century and planted them in what may be the world's best location for growing wine. The climate, similar to California in many ways offers many areas with lots of sunshine, dry weather, but with the addition of generally available irrigation, courtesy of the gods of the Andes. The snow melt rivers flow with abandon and offer plentiful water for the taking.

Seems like a match of the ages, right? Yeh, except that most Chilean growers thought that Carmenere was actually Merlot. It was not until the mid 1990s that a positive genetic ID was made that separated C. from M. which brings me to the title of the post.

Vina y Bodega Estampa S.A. produces a Chilean version of a "Bordeaux blend" with a Chilean twist: Carmenere is 60% of the blend; cabernet sauvignon is 22%, and cabernet franc is 18%. What we have is wine that full bodied, smoky, spicy, intensely fruity with dark fruits, showing a presence of oak and minerality (terroir) with ripe tannins from the C.S. and red fruit overtones from the C. F. This is a magnificent wine.

Vintage 2007 is ready to drink, but if you find some, buy a case and let it sit for a while. The structure is there for 5-10 years of aging.

Bordeaux blend with a Chilean twist. Estate bottled and waiting for you.

Wines of the Times

Having ignored the blog for quite some time, it is time to get going again. The past almost two years I was occupied with writing a book on American cuisine. It looks like it will be published later this year, so before I get going on another one I need to catch up here.

Sometime during the last quarter of 2009 I made my own little wine database. I know a lot about wine but realized that with all the tasting I did, I soon forgot most of what I discovered while attending a tasting. I was surprised after a few weeks to discover where "my" wines were coming from. The last several years the wines I bought for home consumption were mostly from the USA. And I did record a fair number in the data base. What I found interesting was the large number from Spain, and not just Rioja.

Spain led the way with 17 wines: regions were Pendes, Ribera del Duero, Carinena, Rias Baixas, Yecla. Ribera del Duero, Jumilla, Montsant, Valencia, Rueda and Rioja. What most impressed my about these wines is the overall high quality of the wines, region to region and varietal to varietal. When coupled with really reasonable prices it becomes apparent that the price/value relationship is high. The perceived value is outstanding. This is one of the concepts that gets a great deal of attention on teaching about cost control in the food service industry. Without fail, the consistency of perceived value led me purchase one Spanish wine after another and was never disappointed with any of the wines.

Surprises were the freshness and refinement of white wines made in Rias Baixas and Rioja Alta. The Rioja was new to me and the viura grape produced a crisp, refreshing, orange and almond scented wine of great charm. All of the reds ranging from tempranillo to garnacha displayed juicy red and dark fruits with a touch of oak and a distinct impression of a sense of place. Monastrell was large and full bodied but not overpowering. The tinta roriz, which is the local name in Rubera del Duero for tempranillo, was more full bodied and silky than the wines made in Rioja; not necessarily better, but quite distinct.

And the sparkling wine Cava was uniformly excellent. Here my personal preference is for wines made from the classic native Spanish grape (parelladda, macabeo, xarel-lo) rather than ones made with the addition of chardonnay. Who needs another chardonnay for a sparkling wine when the native varieties propduce such crisp and nuanced wines?

These are definitely wines to try for summer tie, whether the crisp whites to alleviate the hot and humid Atlanta weather, or the wide variety of reds for enjoying with slabs of grilled beast on the backyard grill.

Have fun and don't forget to write!

About time

I just read on a wine business web site that distributors are slashing prices to unload shelves full of dust collecting trophy bottles of wine. You know the ones, where someone with a straight face says this wine will be released at $150 or $250 or $1200 per bottle. Maybe some of you were actually caught up in this mass ego inflation exercise. Ego Inflation on the part of the winemaker in saying that "I am SO GOOD that my wine is worth two or three cases of anyone else's wine." Or maybe you were one of the ones duped into buying that marketing line and actually paid one of those ridiculous prices just to have a trophy wine. Why? To brag to your friends? To brag to yourself?

This whole sordid business of horrendously over inflated wine prices is part and parcel of the general ego malaise that gripped the country over the last seven or eight years. Too much money was made for essentially doing nothing so that the value of the money itself could not generate a real sense of achievement or value. The money itself, while plentiful for 1% of the population, became worthless from a standpoint of real value.

This was in part reflected in the wine high as demonstrated by winemakers actually able to charge, and get, such absurd prices for their wines. If these wines were indeed worth these prices, that would reflect an innate value in the wines themselves, whether Napa cabs or Bordeaux classed growths. But the prices have plummeted to the point that some distributors are discounting as much as 60% of what the release price was a year or two ago just to get these financial anchors out of the water.

Bordeaux exports took a nose dive in Britain for the same reason that trendy Napa producers are sitting on inventory.

Maybe now there will be an adjustment of prices to approach some sort of reality. Once the grapes are paid for and the labor and financial carrying charges plus a profit margin are factored in, the rest of an inflated price is ego in action.

Maybe it is time to think rather than boast or brag.

Next exciting chapter

Well, not much has happened since our last action packed installment. The publisher has had the revised manuscript for a little over a week. It goes to "readers" who decide if it is ready to present to the university review board.

Publisher number two was sent two ideas for other books I am working on and also no response from them either.

Even if nothing gets published this has been a great experience. I learned lots about some great people I did not know before and just the discipline of keeping at writing over three hundred pages was a trip.

Hopefully more later on the adventure.

Web site address

For those of you interested in learning more about wine whether personally or for your business, take a look at my web site, http://web.me.com/winewithachef/Site.

Talk soon.