Loire Valley Wines tasting

There was a tasting of Loire Valley Wines. 

love the wall decoration!

Loire Valley stretches east-west direction following the Loire River.

Climate in the area near Atlantic ocean is maritime while inland experiences cooler continental climate. This variety of climate together with different soil types produce many styles of wine, like crisp Sauvignon Blanc from cooler Central Vineyards or age-worthy full body Chenin Blanc from Anjou.

Pascal Jolivet Sauvignon Blanc Sancerre 2017

Freshness with creamy texture. Ripe fruit.

Pascal Jolivet Sauvignon Blanc Les Caillottes Sancerre  2016
Melon, lime, herbs like tarragon.

Domaine Leduc Frouin La Seigneurie Anjou 2015
Fresh and ripe tropical fruit.

Chateau Pierre Bise Clos du Grand Beaupreau Savenieres Chenin Blanc 2013
Rich texture with savoriness.

Chateau Pierre Bise Clos de Coulaine Savennieres 2013
DECADENT!

Chateau de la Mulonniere L'Effet Papillon 2013
Decent sweetness of honey and notes of oxidation.

Couly Dutheil Les Chanteaux Chinon
Fresh and ripe fruit and flower.
Delicate flavor lasted to the after taste.
Loire is known for white wine (almost half of the production is white), but this red was great!

Loire Valley is an established wine region but might be lesser recognized being under the shadow of other big names like Bordeaux or Burgundy; however, the broadness of the range of styles makes this region stand out.

Calon Segur

I don't have so many occasions to try Boudeaux wine.
Even rarer is the opportunity to try a vertical tasting  (a tasting of a specific wine of different vintages) of Calon Segur!

Chateau Calon Segur is the Third Growth Chateau in Bordeaux and one of the oldest producers in Saint Estephe.
The noticeable heart design on the label is said to come from the word from the former owner of the chateau "my heart is in Calon."

Chateau Calon Segur St. Estephe 2012
Dark purple color. Pronounced aromas of purple flower like lavender or violet, fresh plum with pepper-like sharp refreshing afrer taste. Tannin is firm yet smooth.

Chateau Calon Segur St. Estephe 2011
Potpourri, fruit and greenness of pirazine. Sweet on the nose and tart on the palate.
I don't know if this is right way to say but the texture is very smooth like water.

Chateau Calon Segur St. Estephe 2009
Aromas of fragrant flower softens toast and chocolate.
Firm structure.

Chateau Calon Segur St. Estephe 2006
Decayed flower and fruit. Coffee beans and tobacco.
Tartness of fruit is balanced with fresh bitterness.

Chateau Calon Segur St. Estephe 2003
Deep garnet color. Cooked and candied fruit, coffee and dark chocolate.

Very approachable and likable. Even the youngest vintage is friendly.
I wasn't a big fan of the label design originally, but it suits to the style of wine, I guess.

Arietta

This was the first Napa visit since the big fire last year.
As we drove up Silverado trail, I saw some damaged winery and vegetation.
It was somehow unrealistic and depressing scene, but as we drove to the north, most of vineyards seemed intact. I heard on the news that irrigation system in vineyards could help to stop fire, and it seemed really worked.

Arietta is a winery founded in Napa in 1996.
Many of grapes for their Bordeaux-style blends come from cooler part of Napa such as Carneros AVA, which create more delicate style wine than big and jammy.
It seems like they are not the only ones and other producers are using grapes from cooler area. Is this trend or because of grobal warming?

Mr. Fritz Hatton, the owner of Arietta, is very amiable, generous, and a great singer!
We visited him at  Chateau Boswell on Silverado Trail.

He gave us a tour of the cave where wines were stored and explained the production, maturation and marketing methods with a touch of humour and music.

Tasting was inside the cave. Very romantic setting!

Arietta On the White Keys 2016
Sauvignon Blanc 84%, Semillon 16%
Vibrant wine. Honeysuckle, apple, fresh cedar.
Partial MLF to aim at just between sharp malic and softer lactic acid.

Arietta Quartet 2015
Cab Sauvignon 51%, Merlot 29%, Cab Franc 11%, Petit Verdot 9%
Red and black berry, sweet pink flower and powdery tannin.
Approachable.

Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Cab Sauvignon 91%, Cab Franc 6%, Petit Verdot 3%
Ripe and preserved red fruit, herb and cacao.
Complexity with focus. Great wine.

Arietta Merlot Hudson Vineyards 2014
Merlot 100%
Ripe red and blue fruit, fresh herb. Firm tannin.

Arietta Red Wine H Block Hudson Valley 2014
Cab Franc 68%, Merlot 32%
Ripe and preserved red fruit, flower, herb and chocolate.
Soft mouth-feel.

Arietta Red Wine Variation One Hudson Valley 2012
Syrah 70%, Merlot 30%
Meaty, juicy wine with exotic notes.

I had an impression that Bordeaux style Napa Cab would be always big and jammy, but these wines were delicate and elegant.
I really enjoyed the beautiful wines with the great host.

Salt Koji

When I make Miso, I make small amount of salt-koji with left over rice koji.

Rice koji is the rice with inoculated koji mold which converts starch in rice into sugar. This sugar eventually encourages fermentation for production of Miso or Sake.

To make salt-koji, I simply mix rice koji with warm salt water (hot water would kill koji). I never measured and tend to have lower salt, but haven't encountered disaster, at least, not yet.
Leave it under room temperature and mix once a day for a week.
It's ready when it starts to show a little sliminess, and you can keep this in a fridge for a while.
Salt-koji can be used to marinate fish or meat, or for pickled vegetable.

I had carrot which was fresh from farmers market, so I cut them into bite-size sticks and marinated with salt koji over night.
The salt-koji I made was a little low in salt, and the pickled carrot had more sweetness of its own than saltiness.

I liked it but wanted to make more pickles-like pickles, so got cucumber, cut them and sprinkled salt on them, squeezed out water, then marinated them with salt koji over night.
This one tasted more like pickled vegetable (and easy to make)!
 

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.