Station Plaza Wine just got back from Bordeaux and tasted over 350 Classified wines.  We had dinner and lunch at Vineyards and visited several wine estates. I’ll keep this short and sweet. I’ll list the wine that we are taking in the shop and talk a bit about the vineyard.  The winemakers have also promised when they make it to NY they will stop in and do a customer tasting at the Station Plaza Tasting Bar. (sign up for  our newsletter to keep informed about our events and specials)

1)      Chateau Clerc Milon – We tasted the 2007 and the 2005, these wines were amazing!  We took the 2004, 2005 into the shop as well as a 2006 6 Liter (aka Imperial size)

     The wine is rated a 5^th Growth in the 1855 Classification. Baron Philippe de Rothschild purchased this estate in 1970 for the paltry sum of one million francs after the property fell into disarray. He spent lots of money fixing up the property and now the wine ROCKS!

The little village of Milon is situated near Chateau Lafite, but vineyards of Clerc-Milon themselves are is situated in the northernmost part of the Pauillac appellation, closer to Mousset. Here Baroness Philippine de Rothschild – Baron Philippe’s daughter – can oversee activity at Clerc-Milon, Mouton-Rothschild and d’Armailhac, whilst keeping up to date with progress at her other interests in Chile (Almaviva) and California (Opus One), as well as the branded side of the business – such as the infamous Mouton Cadet. They produce about  14000 cases per annum, the label of which depicts a pair of dancing clowns made from precious stones, a facsimile of a 16th century piece currently housed in the Museum of Wine in Art at Mouton-Rothschild. There is no second wine.

2)      Chateau Clinet, Pomerol – This is not a Classified Estate but the wines ROCK! We visited the estate and met with Ronan Laborde the CEO and tasted a flight from 2001 – 2007. Very, very impressive! This was one of the first wines we took into the shop upon returning to the States and will most likely be a staple for a very long time. I’m already dreaming of paring dinners at our home and who to invite.  – You’ve gotta see the videos of Ronan describing the vineyard and the winemaking process, what a charismatic fellow with charm and enthusiasm for the process and the end product. Thats what it’s all about!

They produce about 3,000 cases and in 1989 received 100 points from Robert Parker.

3,4 and 5) The De Fieuzal 1999 Blanc was AMAZING, unfortunately I have not been able to locate any just yet to take in to the store. But man, was I surprised by a 10+ year old white. I literally could not get over it. Then came the best white I have ever tasted, a 1989 Saduiraut Sauturn ( a sweet desert wine) that we took into the shop faster than you can say caramel, honey, apricot and lemon explosion.  At $50 a half bottle it’s worth every drop.

Lastly I’ll just say that I have a new found appreciation for aged Bordeaux’s. Time really does make a difference with these wines. We saw it over and over in vertical tastings ( tastings of several vintages). It was basically true without exception the older the wine the better.

I’ll have a lot more to follow, including several more winemaker videos and tasting notes.

Chin chin,

Kevin

Kongsgaard Napa Valley Chardonnay 2007

A real Burgundy made in California with a deep nose lemon zest, bits of tropical citrus, mango and butter with a touch of oak. Full bodied with smooth and polished tones of green apple with some mineral, roasted nuts. Great balance and good medium acidity. 

Fifth-generation Napa natives John and Maggy Kongsgaard produce The Judge, Chardonnay, VioRous, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Shy-bearing vineyards and traditional low-intervention winemaking techniques produce powerful, graceful wines — high intensity expressions of vineyard and variety. The core of their endeavor is the ten-acre vineyard they planted in the late 1970s on a rocky hilltop in southern Napa Valley which has belonged to the Kongsgaard family since the 1920s. In addition to these family acres, they direct the farming under long-term contract on another seven acres in the Napa Carneros and three acres near St. Helena. The winery, on the eastern rim of Napa Valley, is a cave drilled into the volcanic rock. Production is limited to what they can make with their own hands.

Kongsgaard Chardonnay 2007 Napa Valley comes from two great Carneros vineyards – Hudson and Hyde. Like The Judge, it is fermented with its indigenous yeast and ages in French oak barrels for 22 months. When most Napa Chardonnays are bottled after 10 months of barrel age, ours is just finishing its fermentations and awakening from adolescence. In the second year of barrel aging, the wine’s more sophisticated qualities evolve. Parker described the 2007 as “beautiful,” displaying “liquid rocks, pineapples, honeysuckle, orange blossoms, and lemon oil.” Tanzer noted “the zesty finish featuring mineral and minty nuances and terrific energy.” $75/bottle, 1000 cases produced.

Wine Advocate

The full-bodied 2007 Chardonnay offers notes of liquid rocks, pineapples, honeysuckle, orange blossoms, and lemon oil. This beautiful effort should turn out as well as Kongsgaard’s superb 2005.

Score: 91-94. —Robert Parker, December 2008. 

Young Christophe Sabon, with his sister by his side and his father in the background, is doing as great a job turning out terrific wines as any vigneron in the world. With nearly 200 acres of vineyards, 45 of them old vines situated in Chateauneuf du Pape, there is enormous potential, all of it being exploited. The 1998s, 1999s, 2000s, and 2001s were all fabulous at this estate, the 2003s were slightly irregular as well as tannic, the 2005s were great, the 2006s are fabulous, and the 2007s may be the sine qua non of all his vintages.

The white wines are not to be missed as they are some of the freshest, most perfumed, lively whites of Southern France. The value picks represent remarkable bargains. The bottled 2006 low end wines are all in the marketplace. While they are not quite at the level of the 2007s, there are some gorgeous choices for consumers. Janasse’s 2007 Chateauneuf du Papes are outrageous, all of which performed brilliantly despite  having just completed their malolactics after 11 months of fermentation. With all of the excitement over the 2007s, readers should not forget just how great Janasse’s  2006s have turned out. They are performing as well as they did last year, perhaps even better.

Domaine de la Janasse

This domaine was created in 1973 by Aime Sabon and is composed of 50 hectare throughout Chateauneuf, Cotes du Rhone, Cotes du Rhone villages and vin de pays. Christophe Sabon took over for Aime in 1991 after receiving a BTA in winemaking and oenology from Beaune and a BTS in marketing at Macon. Christophe was joined by his sister, Isabelle, also oenologist, in 2001. 
This estate employees partial destemming (50% to 80% inclusion depending on stem maturity), very long maceration (3 to 4 weeks) and even some micro-oxegenation on their vin de pay wines. The grenache sees primarily vat ageing where as the syrah and other varietals see small barrique, including new, for 12 to 14 months.
This winery produces a traditional cuvee, a Chaupin cuvee which is typically 100% grenache from a single, cool climate plot that sees 30% barrique, ¼ of which is new and a Vieilles Vignes blend which is a blend of the oldest vines that sees 40% in barrique with ¼ being new.

Villa Trasqua www.villatrasqua.it

Their Super Tuscan, Trasgaia was awsome!

Di Lenardo Vineyards www.dilenardo.it

Great desert wine, Pass the Cookies.

Villa Calcinaia www.villacalcinaia.it

Great Chianti Classico’s – we took in a few!

Visitors stroll the beautiful landscaped premises, tour the romantic underground cellars and taste a variety of award winning wines.

You can browse through their “History of Brotherhood exhibit. Learn interesting facts about grape growing and winemaking. Tour the underground cellars while their guides briefs you on Champagne making, barrel aging and more!

2)  Don’t rush your tour. A visit to 1 or 2 wineries in the morning. 1 for lunch, 2 or 3 in the afternoon is ideal.

3)  Taste responsibly — its perfectly OK to spit out a wine, even if you like it and don’t forget to snack between visits.

4)  Avoid wearing perfume, aftershave or sunscreen. It will effect the wine’s bouquet.

5)  Do not chew gum, use mints or cough drops.

6)  If you don’t know the difference between wine varieties, don’t be afraid to ask. Winemakers and tasting room staff are happy to explain.

7)  Bring a notebook to record the wines and what you liked about them.

8)  When you find a wine you like, buy several bottles. Bring a cooler especially during the Summer.

9)  Tour hours may vary from one winery to the next so call ahead. If you’re traveling in a group of 15 or more, you’ll need to schedule your tour.

10)  Remember to bring ID. Winery staff will check if you look under 21.

11)  Make the most of your visit. Check out sites like: www.LocalWineEvents.com , www.newyorkwines.org for special events that may be going on in Wine Country.