Tag Archives: Ugni blanc

WBC18 Day 1 Quick Impressions

Published on October 5, 2018

Getting ready to start Day 2 of the 2018 Wine Bloggers Conference and my nervousness has subsided considerably.

It was really great meeting several bloggers who I’ve only known before as names on a screen. I’d love to give a particular shout out to Lisa Stephenson (Worldly Wino), Noelle Harman (Outwines), Anne Keery (Aspiring Winos), Maureen Blum (Mo Wino), Dwight Furrow (Edible Arts), Reggie Solomon (Wine Casual) and Margot Savell (Write For Wine) for being great geeking and drinking companions yesterday.

I also want to thank Nancy Croisier (Vino Social) who I’ve known outside of blogland but has done a lot to help me feel welcomed here at WBC.

Lustau’s Sherry Wine Specialist Certification Course

I will definitely be doing a full write-up in the next few weeks on this event. A big light bulb moment for me was realizing the similarities and overlap between Sherries and Scotches.

Both drinks mostly start out with a single main ingredient (Palomino grape and Malted Barley). Yes, there are some other minor grapes like Moscatel and Pedro Ximenez and Blended Scotches can have various grains like corn and rye but, for the most part, the reputation of both are built on these primary ingredients.

Many Scotches are aged in Oloroso Sherry casks which makes tasting the Lustau Don Nuno Oloroso Sherry a great education for Scotch fans.

The diversity of styles that arise from those single ingredients begin early in the production process with pressing decisions with Sherries that dramatically impact mouthfeel while the shape of the still and angle of the lyne arm with Scotch will similarly have a pronounce influence on the resulting mouthfeel and body of the Scotch.

Then comes the ever important aging period with the environment, barrels and time leaving their indelible print. While the use of yeast seems to be more important to Bourbon producers than necessarily Scotch, you can still see an overlap with the presence or absence of Sherry’s famous Flor yeast. Though a better comparison on degree of influence may be more with water source.

You can also draw a parallel between the art and skill of blending for whiskies with the simplicity yet complex results of the solera system.

Welcome Reception Wine Tasting

Two big wine discoveries jumped out at the reception tasting–the wines of Mt. Beautiful in the Canterbury region of New Zealand and the Lugana DOC located at the south end of Lake Garda in Italy.

The 2016 Mt. Beautiful Pinot noir, in particular, was excellent and ended up being the best wine of the entire day (with the 2013 Mullan Road a close second). It reminded me of an excellent Oregon Pinot noir from the Eola-Amity Hills with its combination of freshness, dark fruit and a mix of floral and spice notes. I would have pegged it for a $35-40 bottle but the Wine Searcher Average for it is $26!

After tasting the Lugana wines, I want to explore more about its primarily grape Trebbiano di Soave–locally known as Turbiana. As I’ve discovered reading the work of my Vino-Crush Ian D’Agata, the Trebbiano group of grapes is a mix bag with a reputation that is often overshadowed by the blandness of Trebbiano Toscano (the Ugni blanc of Cognac) yet can produce some stellar wines such as Trebbiano d’Abruzzo made by its namesake variety.

That “mixed bag” feel also characterized my tasting of the Lugana wines with some of them being fresh and vibrant like a racy Verdicchio or complex and layered like a Vermentino while others were decidedly “meh”. That could be producer variation but I’d like to learn more about Turbiana and which side of the Trebbiano family tree this variety may fall on.

Mullan Road Winemaker’s Dinner

Dennis Cakebread of Mullan Road and Cakebread Cellars

It was very fun to meet Dennis Cakebread and learn about his plans for Mullan Road. He doesn’t necessarily want it to go down the Cakebread path in Napa with a large portfolio of wines (including apparently a Syrah from the Suscol Springs Ranch Vineyard in Jamieson Canyon that I now eagerly want). Instead, he wants to keep this 3000 case label focused on being a Bordeaux-style blend.

I also found it interesting that instead of going the Duckhorn/Canvasback route of purchasing land in a notable AVA like Red Mountain, Cakebread is embracing the blending mentality with sourcing fruit from great vineyards like Seven Hills in Walla Walla, Stillwater Creek and the Lawrence Family’s Corfu Vineyard in the upcoming Royal Slope AVA.

They poured both the 2013 and 2015 vintages of Mullan Road (as well as a one-off bottling of extra Merlot from the 2013 vintage) and it is clear that Mullan Road is a wine that rewards patience. While I suspect the 2015 will eventually be the better bottle, it was still at least 2 to 3 years away from starting to hit it stride while the 2013 was just now entering a good place with a solid core of dark fruit, juicy medium-plus acidity but added spice and floral aromatics for complexity. I can see this 2013 continuing to deliver pleasure easily for another 7 to 10 years that more than merits its $40-45 price point.

The evening also featured an unexpected history lesson with a character actor re-enacting the story of Captain John Mullan and the military road he constructed to connect Fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton in Montana on the banks of the Missouri River.

All in all, a great day. Here’s to Day 2 following suit!

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Getting Geeky with Lang & Reed Chenin blanc

Amber LeBeau in Napa Valley, Wine grapes

Published on September 26, 2018

This post was inspired by Outwines’ Noelle Harman’s great post on the Loire and South African Chenins made by the husband-wife team of Vincent & Tania Carême. That post and her reviews are well worth a look along with her super geeky and super useful study outline on the Chenin blanc grape (part of a continuing series she does).

With this still being California Wine Month, I’m going to add my advocacy for the overlooked and underappreciated Chenin by highlighting Lang & Reed’s 2015 example from Napa Valley.

The Background

Lang & Reed was founded in 1995 by Tracey & John Skupny. After previous stints at Caymus, Clos Du Val and Niebaum-Coppola, John and his wife Tracey (previously of Spottswoode) wanted to work with their favorite grape varieties from the Loire Valley–Cabernet Franc and Chenin blanc.

Named after their children, Reed & Jerzy Lang, Lang & Reed Wine Company work with fruit primarily from the Anderson Valley of Mendocino and Napa Valley.

The 2015 Chenin blanc is sourced 100% from the cooler Oak Knoll District of the Napa Valley from a vineyard near the Napa River. The grapes were whole cluster pressed with the wine fermented in a combination of stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels. The Chenin was then transferred completely to barrel where it was aged 4 months with weekly batonnage stirring of the lees. Around 185 cases were produced.

The Grape

Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz note in Wine Grapes that the first mention of Chenin blanc, under the synonym Plant d’Anjou, dates back to 1496 in the Loire Valley. Here the wine was grown at Chateau Chenonceau owned by Thomas Bohier. It is believed that Bohier then propogated the variety which eventually took on the name Chenin from Chenonceau.

Chenin blanc grapes with botrytis growing in Saint Cyr en Bourg in the Anjou-Saumur region of the Loire Valley.

The name “Chenin” itself first appears in François Rabelais’ 1534 work Gargantua. A native of Touraine, Rabelais describes both a Chenin wine and a Vin Pineau with Gros Pineau being a common synonym of Chenin blanc in Touraine for many centuries.

It is possible that the name Chenin came from the monastery of Montchenin in Touraine. Another theory is that the name is derived from the French word chien, meaning dog, and could refer to the affinity of dogs to eat the the grapes off the vine.

Recent DNA analysis has shown a parent-offspring relationship between Savagnin and Chenin blanc with Savagnin being the likely parent. This would make Chenin blanc a half or full sibling of Sauvignon blanc, Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng, Grüner Veltliner, Verdelho, Siegerrebe and the Trousseau varieties.

Through its relationship with Sauvignon blanc, Chenin is then an aunt/uncle of Cabernet Sauvignon.

At some point, Chenin blanc naturally crossed with Gouais blanc (mother vine of Chardonnay) to produce several varieties like Colombard, Meslier-Saint-François and Balzac.

In South Africa, the grape was crossed with Trebbiano Toscano/Ugni blanc to produce Chenel.

Chenin Blanc Today

Chenin blanc is also grown in the French colony of Réunion off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Here is a harvest of Chenin blanc grapes in the town of Cilaos.

From a high point of 16,594 ha (41,005 acres) of vines in 1958, plantings of Chenin blanc in France have sharply declined over the years to just 9,828 ha (24,286 acres) in 2008–representing around 1.2% of France’s vineyards.

It is mostly found in the Anjou-Touraine region of the Loire Valley where it is used in the sparkling wines of Cremant de Loire and Vouvray. Also in Vouvray it can be used to produce dry to demi-sec still wines while in the AOC of Bonnezeaux, Montlouis and Quarts de Chaume it is used exclusively for late harvest sweet examples that may have some botrytis influence. In Savennières it is used exclusively for minerally dry wines with notable ageability.

Outside of the Loire it can also be found in the Languedoc where it can make up to 40% of the blend for Cremant de Limoux with Mauzac blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot noir.

Chenin blanc has been historically known as “Steen” in South Africa where it has accounted for as much as a third of all white wine produced in the country. By 2008 there were 18,852 ha (46,584 acres) of the vine representing 18.6% of all South African plantings. It is grown throughout South Africa but is more widely found in Paarl, Malmesbury and Olifants River. In recent years the variety has seen a renaissance of high quality production by producers in the Swartland and Stellenbosch.

From an area so blessed to produce Cabernet Sauvignon, the Chappellet Molly’s Cuvee Chenin blanc from Pritchard Hill is jaw-droppingly good.

In California there is 4,790 acres of Chenin blanc planted throughout the state as of 2017–nearly 2/3 of the acreage that was in production in 2010 (7,223 acres). Notable plantings can be found in the Clarksburg AVA in Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties, Chappellet Vineyard on Pritchard Hill in Napa, Santa Maria Valley, Lodi, Paso Robles, Alexander Valley and Mendocino County.

Like California, Washington State has also seen a notable drop in plantings of Chenin blanc in recent years going from 600 acres in 1993 to just 67 acres by 2017.

The Wine

High intensity nose–yellow peach and white flowers. There is also some honeycomb and fresh straw notes that come out more as the wine warms in the glass.

On the palate the peach notes come through and adds a spiced pear element. There is noticeable texture and weight on the mouthfeel but I would still place the body as just medium. Medium-plus acidity adds a mouthwatering element and a little saline minerality as well. Long finish still carries the fruit but brings back some of the straw notes from the nose.

The Verdict

The 2015 Lang & Reed Chenin blanc from Napa Valley is, hands down, one of the most delicious domestic Chenin blancs that I’ve had the opportunity to try–second only to Chappellet’s example. While not quite Savennières level, at $25-30 it still delivers plenty of complexity that outshines many California Chardonnays and other white wines in that price range.

At nearly 3 years, it is still quite youthful and I can see this wine continuing to give pleasure for at least another 3-4 years.

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Getting Geeky with Adelsheim Auxerrois

Amber LeBeau in Wine grapes, Wine laws, Wine reviews

Published on January 8, 2018

Going to need more than 60 seconds to geek out with the 2011 Adelsheim Auxerrois.

The Background

Adelsheim Vineyards started in 1971 when David & Ginny Adelsheim purchased land in what is now the Chehalem Mountains AVA. The next year they established their Quarter Mile Lane vineyard, becoming the first to plant in this northern part of the Willamette Valley.

In 1994, Jack and Lynn Loacker joined the Adelsheims as co-owners and began planting their Ribbon Springs Vineyards in the Ribbon Ridge sub-AVA of the Chehalem Mountains. Among the varieties planted in this vineyard are Pinot noir, Pinot gris and a little over 2 acres of the obscure French variety Auxerrois.

Ribbon Springs Vineyard highlighted.
Map courtesy of the Chehalem Mountains Winegrowers

On all the estate vineyards, Adelsheim practices sustainable viticulture and are certified Salmon Safe and LIVE.

It was announced in December 2017 that Adelsheim’s winemaker David Paige was stepping down with associate winemaker Gina Hennen being promoted to replace him. This makes Hennen only the third head winemaker in Adelsheim’s 40+ year history with Paige following founder David Adelsheim in the position in 2001. She joins vineyard manager Kelli Gregory as one of the few all female winemaker/vineyard manager combos at a major winery.

The Grape

Auxerrois grapes in Weinsberg

According to Jancis Robinson’s Wine Grapes , Auxerrois is the second most widely planted white grape variety in Alsace after Riesling.

While it is not permitted in Alsatian Grand Cru or the dessert wine styles of Vendange Tardive or Sélection de Grains Nobles, it is often used in the production of Crémant d’Alsace and Edelzwicker as well as wines labeled as Klevener and Pinot blanc. In fact, it is a quirk of Alsatian wine laws that a wine can be 100% Auxerrois but labeled as Pinot blanc.

The close association with Auxerrois and Pinot blanc is due to the similarities in wine styles produce by both. Typically low in acid but with a rich mouthfeel that has weight and texture. DNA analysis has shown that Auxerrois is a progeny of Pinot and Gouais blanc–making it a sibling of Chardonnay, Aligote, Melon de Bourgogne and Gamay. It is also a half-sibling of Blaufränkisch and Colombard.

Outside of Alsace, Auxerrois can be found in the French Moselle, Côtes de Toul, Luxembourg, England and the Netherlands. The grape can also be found in Germany in the Baden, Nahe, Palatinate and Rheinhessen.

Outside of Europe, Canada has a few plantings of Auxerrois in Ontario as well as the Okanagan Valley and Vancouver Island wine producing regions of British Columbia. The grape was unexpectedly discovered in South Africa in the 1980s when vines that were thought to be Chardonnay turned out to actually be Auxerrois.

This “Chardonnay Scandal” in South African wine history began in the 1970s when growers responding to the rush to plant more Chardonnay tried to get around quarantines and bureaucratic paperwork by turning to smugglers for their vine materials. In addition to getting Auxerrois vines instead of Chardonnay, the smugglers also inadvertently brought in Chenel (a crossing of Chenin blanc and Ugni blanc).

In the United States, beyond the Willamette Valley, there are small plantings of Auxerrois in the Lake Erie region of Ohio and the Leelanau Peninsula AVA of Michigan which Appellation America proclaims is the “best home” for the grape. Here the Bel Lago Vineyards & Winery stakes claim to producing the first American Auxerrois in 1998 with Adelsheim’s first bottling coming in 2004.

Auxerrois photo from Bauer Karl released on Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-3.0-AT; Chardonnay photo from Viala und Vermorel 1901-1910 (Ampélographie. Traité général de viticulture) released under the Public Domain; Pinot blanc photo By Bauer Karl - Own work, CC BY 3.0

Auxerrois grapes comparison to Chardonnay and Pinot blanc

The Wine

The 2011 Adelsheim Auxerrois has medium plus intensity on the nose which is very surprising for a 6 year old white wine. The aromas are a mix of spiced tree fruit (mostly pear) with some floral herbal elements like bay laurel and tarragon.

This wine has the floral fragrance of a fresh herb like bay laurel.

The palate has lively medium plus acidity which is, again, surprising for its age and with Auxerrois typically being considered a “low acid” variety.

This fresh acidity brings out citrus notes but for the most part the spiced pear and herbal notes carry through. The medium body has the texture of an unoaked Pinot blanc and Chardonnay which would give me some trouble in a blind tasting. Ultimately it is the floral herbal notes that distinguishes this as a different grape variety. The wine’s age finally catches up to it with the finish that is very short and quickly fades.

Still this is an impressive wine that has held up much better than how many domestic white wines (outside of Riesling) usually do. For the most part I try to open up my domestic whites within 3 years of vintage date and start getting really nervous when they get close to 5 years. But this Adelsheim Auxerrois still has a good story to tell and I would be quite interested in trying a newer release.

At around $20-25, it does command a premium for an obscure white variety but I think that premium is worth it for a very character driven wine that clearly has aging potential.