Chateau Musar is back!

It was two years ago I first tasted Chateau Musar.
If there was something called epiphany in my life, that must have been it.
They are back to San Francisco again, and this time, I tried their wine flight at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant.

Chateau Musar is one of the leading producers in Lebanon.
Most of their vineyards are in Bekaa Valley, which has Mediterranean climate and gravelly soils. Grapes are sent to winery located in the north of Beirut with minimum application of SO2. The sorting process is not strict to reflect the character of the vintage in wine.

Chateau Musar Rouge Bekaa Valley 2009
Fresh and ripe red fruit, cherry, herb, lavender flower. Minerality of iron.
Tannin is firm but powdery.

Chateau Musar Rouge Bekaa Valley 2001
Fresh flower, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, mocha.
Sweetness of ripe fruit. Silky tannin.

Chateau Musar Rouge Bekaa Valley 2000
Ripe red fruit, herb, oregano, medicinal, coffee.
Gripping tannin but not aggressive.

Chateau Musar Rouge Bekaa Valley 1998
Cherry, sour cherry, lavender, incense, coffee beans and fresh tobacco.
Silky texture. It's 20 years old but there is still freshness.

Chateau Musar Blanc Bekaa Valley 2007
Pear, very ripe, almost decayed tropical fruit, herb.
Cream flavor and creamy texture.

I also had a chance to try some other wines next day.
2003 Blanc was concentrated and savory. There was umami and would be good with Japanese food.
Rose was beautiful. Just beautiful.
2010 Rouge was big yet delicate and round. Very likable.
Like, masculine guy with tender heart.


Since showing the individual character of the year is one of their winemaking policies, each vintage shows different characteristics but there is one thing in common: their wine can be strong and delicate at the same time.
If you find the wine too strong, stay with it for a while and it'll start to show different sides. There might be something you feel it's a flaw, soon you will realize it is a part of charm. 
Wine you, or at least I can't resist.

I still clearly remember the day I first tasted Chateau Musar.
I remember the room, the sunlight, the white jacket I wore, and the street in Financial District. I was walking down the street between buildings, wanting to grab somebody to tell about the wine I just tasted. I remembered all of these and things happened since that day as I tasted the wine.
Chateau Musar is my madeleine dipped in tea.

Two Champagne

Happy encounter with two great Champagne at North Berkeley Imports Tasting.

I was mostly looking forward to tasting still wines at this event and there were many of them which were very good, but at the end of the day, these two stood out.

Domaine Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Brut Millesime 2007
Domaine Egly-Ouriet owns Grand Cru vineyards in Ambonnay, Verzenay and Bouzy (all in Montagne de Reims), and harvests grapes when they are very ripe unlike many other Champagne producers who harvest grapes while those retain enough acidity.

Pinot Noir 70%, Chardonnay 30%.
Fresh citrus and red fruit, herb and caramel.
Creamy texture with full body.
Interesting wine: there are freshness and oxidative quality at the same time.

Domaine Francis Orban NV Extra Brut
This producer seems to be very small. Even their distributor didn't have enough information about them yet.
They make interesting Champagne with 100% Pinot Meunier.
Freshness and ripeness of white and red fruit with round, powdery texture and pleasant finish.
This is not a simple wine, but very approachable.


I like sparkling wines in general. Why not?
They are refreshing and likable. It's good to drink by itself and with food.
However, I fail to find uniqueness in many of the sparkling wines (maybe bubbles distract me?); therefore, when I meet Champagne with distinctive characters, it feels like I found a treasure.

Austrian Wine Tasting at Austrian restaurant

There was a seminar/tasting of Austrian wine with winemakers at The Salzburg in North Beach, San Francisco.

The Salzburg is an Austrian restaurant with a modern mountain cottage feel.

First, tasting of four Gruner Veltliner.

Harm Gruner Veltliner Wacha 2016
Gardenia, lime, orange oil. Acid is high but mouth feel is soft.

Harm Gruner Veltliner Ried Kremser Wachtberg 2016
Jasmin, lemon, orange zest and incense. Approachable.

Jurtschisch Gruner Veltliner Loiserberg Erste Lage 2015
Honeysuckle, gardenia, lime and pickled lemon. Good freshness from acid.

Jurtschisch Gruner Veltliner Kaferberg Erste Lage 2016

Jasmin, fresh tobacco and note of honey. Rich texture.

Then tasting of three Riesling

Jurtschisch Riesling Zobinger Heiligenstein Erste Lage 2016
Sweet white flower, petrol. pear and peach.
Acid is there but not aggressive.

Harm Riesling Durnstiner Kellerberg 2015
Notes of floral and petrol. Soft, creamy texture.

Harm Riesling Viesslinger Bruck 2015
Citrus, honey with soft acid.
This is not a sweet wine, but there was a subtle sweetness from the ripe citrus fruit.

The trend of winemaking style had been big and heavy for a while in Austria; however, young winemakers are more into terroir-driven lighter wine, expressing its terroir and the characteristics of the variety.

Next tasting was wines from Eisenberg.
This DAC produces red wine from 100% Blaufrankisch.
Eisenberg is also a name of 415 m high mountain which provides gentle slopes and soils with high iron content.
This is the smallest appellation and relatively unknown comparing with other big names like Wachau. Production is also small and many of the winemakers are part-timers. I found this quite unique - sounds like these wines are from the time that wine production hadn't been dominated by large companies yet.

Blaufrankisch from Eisenberg has been considered to be "heavy" wine made with high extraction, but it is changing: more fresh and delicate wines with finesse are produced by careful winemaking.

Wachter-Wiesler Blaufrankisch 2015
Violet, cherry, strawberry. Straightforward, entry level Blaufrankisch.
There was distinct minerality of iron. I found it a little overwhelming, but JC loved it.

Wachter-Wiesler Blaufrankisch Eisenberg Bela Joska 2015
Aromas of rose, coffee beans and fresh herb.
Medium acidity and a little higher tannin.

Wachter-Wiesler Blaufrankisch Eisenberg Ried Weinberg 2014
It was a damp year but thick skin protected fruit.
Coffee, fresh red fruit and preserved strawberry. Tannin is soft.

Wachter-Wiesler Blaufrankisch Eisenberg Ried Weinberg 2011
Red fruit, decayed rose petal, medicinal and incense.
Complex and decent. Beautiful wine.

We enjoyed these wines in the cozy atmosphere of this small restaurant. We didn't have a chance to taste their food this day, but were saying that we would come back to try some food with wine.
However, it seems like the restaurant was damaged by fire just days after this tasting.
Hope the damage wasn't serious and they can recover soon.

Burgundy A Barrel Tasting of Vintage 2016

Burgundy A Barrel Tasting of Vintage 2016
This was my second time to attend this tasting.
I was really looking forward to this event but on the day, I was feeling sick...
I almost gave up, but couldn't miss the rare opportunity to taste...

Domaine Armand Rousseau Pere & Fils!

Domaine Armand Rousseau Pere & Fils is a renown family-run Domaine in Burgundy.

Gevrey-Chambertin Clos du Chateau 2016
Cherry blossom, pink rose, cherry and pomegranate.
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St-Jacques 2016
Dark cherry, herb, vanilla cream and freshness of green tea. Fine tannin.
Ruchotte-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes Grand Cru Monopole 2016
Cut flower, cardamon, juice which spreads when you bite fresh meaty cherry.
Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru 2016
Rose, lavender, cherry and fresh tobacco. Texture is very smooth.

These wines were still young and tight, but aromas and flavors spread out in my mouth once I had a sip.

Beautiful wine. When I tasted them, I was so absorbed and totally forgot that I was sick.

Shea Vineyard in Oregon

Shea Wine Cellars make wine from grapes grown in their Shea vineyard and sell grapes to some of the finest wineries.
There was a tasting of wines made of grapes from Shae vineyard with the wine makers.

Shea vineyard is sustainably farmed vineyard in Yamhill Carlton AVA, Oregon and known for Pinot Noir with blue and black fruit rather than red.
This part of the land was thought to be too close to the ocean therefore too cool for vine growing, but this particular part of the land is protected from the cool ocean breezes and proved to be capable of producing beautiful fruit.

Mr. Shea, Mark Vlossak from St. Innocent, Ken Bernards from Ancien Wines
(right to left)

Mr. Dick Shea, an owner of Shea vineyard, is a former investment banker who fell in love with Pinot Noir and changed his career when he was in 40s.
After selling grapes for ten years, Shea Vineyard started to make their own wine.

Ken Wright Cellars
2016 Shea Vineyard Red and blue fruit. Silky texture.
2012 Shea Vineyard Red fruit with good structure.

Penner-Ash Wine Cellars
2015 Shea Vineyard Raspberry, cranberry, strawberry and nut. Fluid-like texture with powdery tannin.
2004 Shea Vineyard Rose, tea, tobacco and mushroom. Complex wine with firm, gentle structure.

Raptor Ridge Winery
2015 Shea Vineyard Tart cherry, vanilla, nut.
2005 Shea Vineyard Fresh cherry, smoke, incense.
I found alcohol a little too high, but JC loved them.

Winderlea Vineyard and Winery
2015 Shea Vineyard Rose, ripe pink cherry, fresh cedar. Aromatic fruits which were supported by tannin.
2010 Shea Vineyard Dried mushroom on the nose, and fresh flower and fruit on palate. Smooth texture.


Ancien Wines
2015 Shea Vineyard Cherry, herb and fresh grass. Iron-like minerality.
2010 Shea Vineyard Tart cherry and milk. Texture was like fluid.

St. Innocent Winery
2014 Shea Vineyard Dried rose petal and cherry. A little flinty and tannin is fine.
2002 Shea Vineyard Preserved cherry, cassis and mushroom. It's 2002 vintage but there was still freshness.

Shea Wine Cellars
2014 Shea Vineyard Block 23 Fresh cedar, ripe cherry. Soft tannin and good acidity.
2008 Shea Vineyard Estate Rose, violet, cherry, plum and creme of cassis. Soft, velvety tannin.

These wines are all made by grapes from the same vineyard, but show different characters depending on vintage and the parcel grapes are from.

Mr. Shea and wine makers from the wineries respect each other and play a joke on each other. There  obviously is a strong bond between them.

Wines based on this trust and respect can't go wrong.

Natural Cork Seminar

There was a promotional seminar about natural cork.

When there is something wrong with a bottle of wine, cork is usually the one to be blamed, but many of the fault are actually not caused by cork.
Besides, the quality of cork is much improved and there are lesser and lesser cases of TCA contamination on cork.

Nowadays, you can find a lot of alternative to cork such as synthetic closures, screw caps or even crown cap.
These have advantages such as lower cost, easy opening or durability.
But when it comes to consumers perception, none of them can match natural cork (at least, not yet). The recent research shows that people accept alternative closures for affordable range white wines, but for premium white and red wine, natural cork is the choice of consumers. Moreover, it's 100% natural and recyclable!
It happens to be that consumers are not the only people who prefer natural cork. After the brief seminar, there was tasting of wines with wine makers, who choose natural cork as the best closure for their wines.

Jordan Winery from Sonoma
Chardonnay 2015 Fresh green apple, pear and hazelnut.
Chardonnay 2011 was a challenging vintage. Spring rain destroy 40% of crops and summer was cool. However, wine turned out to be nice with dried, white flower bruised apple, nuts and grapefruit.

Shafer Vineyards from Napa
Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 Floral, cherry, bell pepper and milk chocolate.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 This wine with smooth texture was aged in low-toasted barrel. The notes of coffee come from bottle age.

Dry Creek Vineyard from Sonoma
Zinfandel 2015 Strawberry, black pepper, strong tannin.
Zinfandel 1993 Aromas are more decent than opulent: strawberry jam like Russian tea, red flower and mint. Beautiful wine with fine tannin.

They firmly believe that if the bottles were sealed with other closure beside natural cork, wine wouldn't have the same quality.

By the way, the conception that wine with natural cork breathes is not exactly right. Wine does breathe, but oxygen comes from cork itself, not through the cork. Oxygen contained inside cork is released into wine little by little. This process lasts about 3 years then bouquet would develop in the bottle in the reductive environment.
This I learned at natural cork seminar and was quite shocking revelation to me...

Bourgogne seminar Meursault

Bourgogne seminar - this time, it's Meursault!

Meursault is the appellation of the Cote de Beaune, Burgundy.
It has cool continental climate and many vineyards have easterly aspect.
Soils are compact limestone with thin layer of marl.
Limestone gives fresh minerality and clay adds richness and length to wine. Together, wine can be rich and complex with freshness at the end.

This AOC is known for its rich Chardonnay.
It's expressive with citrus, flower and nut when it's young, and develop complexity as it ages.
There are no Grand Crus in Meursault but to many, the word "Meursault" is as attractive as Grand Cru.

Meursault les Pierres 2015 Domaine Jean Chartron 
Honeysuckle, bruised apple, pear, caramel.
It was fresh and round.

Meursault les Tillets 2015 Domaine Patrick Javillier
Fresh apple, pear and marshmallow. Mild, round acidity.
This wine wasn't very impressive at first, but became really good with food.

Meursault les Charrons 2015 Maison Vincent Girardin
Grapefruit, herb, tarragon,
I enjoyed this wine by itself a lot.

Meursault Premier Cru Poruzots 2015 Domaine Philippe Bouzereau Chateau de Citeaux
White flower petal, grapefruit, ripe melon.
Complex and well balanced.
Unfortunately, this wine is not exported to U.S.

Meursault Premier Cru Blagnys 2015 Domaine Faiveley Pere et Fils
Ripe fruit, apple, peach.
Medium plus body.

Meursault Premier Cru Genevrieres 2014 Domaine Latour Giraud
Very aromatic with peach, orange and fresh cedar which are balanced with fresh acidity.
This wine is 2014 and others are 2015, and 2014 vintage had a lot more acid.

Recently winemaking in Meursault is moving toward more terroir with freshness and minerality than rich, big Chardonnay. This is personally very welcoming movement.