The Porron

Luberri Harvest Notes 2011

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 23:52:00 +0000

After an early flowering and a cool summer it looked like the harvest would need heat and rain to come together. The heat arrived and moved along the viticultural cycle but the rains never appeared.

The high heat in Rioja created situations of drought. The growers with old vines came through with fruit that, although with thicker skins, was full of good juice. These old vines reached deep to find resources that were unavailable to the younger vines. This fact, in addition to vigorous work in aerating the soils, allowed a freshness to permeate the vines despite the elevated temperatures.

Working with a careful regulation of temperatures allowed the extraction of positive aromas and great fruit.

The harvest is still too early to call but indications are all positive.

Ostatu Harvest Notes 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Alex Wallace) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:49:00 +0000

Harvest notes, straight from the winery:

The climatological characteristics of this vintage 2011, that will constrain the character of our wines, we can summarize them in: winter soft and low precipitation, spring with high temperatures that overtook the vegetative cycle of the vineyard in an important way, followed by a summer with peak temperatures during July and August, and a total absence of rain. The months of September and October have brought us very high temperatures every day, unusual in our area. A dry year, only 400 lit. per square meter in Samaniego, whereas we usually have an average of about 600 lit.

We began the harvest the 21st of September (the 1st of October in 2010), picking the viura and malvasia grapes, with a excellent sanity and maturation, and ending the collection of the last tempranillo grapes October 12. Due to the high temperatures, we only collected grapes during the morning, preventing grapes coming in the cellar with too high temperatures. Even so the use of refrigeration in the cellar has been very important in order to delaying the fermentations, that finally did start, and are going very well.
Today, we are satisfied with the result of the vintage, the wines are very expressive, with a true fruit . We are still waiting for the development of the malolactic fermentations, and the consolidation of the anthocyanins and tannins that in vintages of a quick ripening can represent a risk.

Clos Cibonne – interview with Claude Deforges

noreply@blogger.com (Alex Wallace) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:49:00 +0000

Clos Cibonne Harvest Notes 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Alex Wallace) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:59:00 +0000

2011 was a fairly windy year overall, but the end result was great fruit maturity. In July, the weather was relatively chilly on the Mediterranean coast of Provence, with some rain. But then August and September were beautifully warm and sunny, providing perfect ripening conditions.

The coastal area was not particularly affected by an especially warm spring, as much of the rest of France was, due to the oceanic influence which keeps conditions more stable and predictable. As such, flowering and budding occurred more or less as normal, not 2 or 3 weeks in advance as in the rest of the country.

The harvest took about 3 weeks this year, starting on August 23rd and ending on September 9th, with a team of 18 pickers. At Clos Cibonne, the grapes are harvested sequentially for the different cuvées: the grapes for the Cuvée Tendance are picked first, the grapes for Cuvée Tradition second, and the grapes for Cuvée Spéciale des Vignettes last. Over the course of 3 weeks, that leads to increasing maturity for the grapes that go into the higher-end cuvées.

André talks with Gerardo Mendez and Toni Mendez about Amizade

noreply@blogger.com (Alex Wallace) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:57:00 +0000

Dominio Do Bibei Harvest Notes 2011

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:56:00 +0000

Following the same trend as the rest of the north of Spain, flowering was two weeks early. This was followed by unseasonably cool weather during the summer months. The weather slowed everything down until right before harvest when the sun came back out and rushed the sugar levels back up. Rains did come down two weeks before harvest keeping everything in check and creating the conditions for a very fresh wine.

The diligent work of vineyard management combined with the Dominio do Bibei's insistence on making a simple, natural wine payed off as we are seeing extremely low pH levels with great acidity. This could turn out to be an exceptional year and only time will tell.

Garciarevalo Harvest Notes 2011

noreply@blogger.com (aw) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:25:00 +0000

The veraison, or onset of ripening, was about 10 days later than average this year, due to low overall temperatures. But then in September, extreme heat meant that full maturation arrived early.

Harvest began on the 12th of September. The parcels for the Casamaro wine were harvested first, with the idea of achieving alcohol levels between 12 and 12.5%, and acidity at around 7 grams/L for a fresh and lively wine.

The harvest of the century-old verdejo vines used in Tres Olmos began on September 18th. These grapes should have an average alcohol level of about 13% and an acidity level of about 7gr/L. The perfect health of these verdejo grapes is in large part due to the sandy soils of this vineyard.

The yield across the plots is a little higher this year than last, with an average of 3500 kg per hectare.

Do Ferreiro Harvest Notes 2011

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:08:00 +0000

As in the rest of Spain, flowering started 2 weeks early. This was followed by a very hot spring and a dry summer. Right before harvest there was a downpour which soaked the grapes with water and slowed maturation. Gerardo Mendez chose to wait for the grapes to recuperate and assimilate that extra water so that they could get the appropriate sugar levels.

This was a risky move since some parcels were lost due to rot. His patience and gamble paid off with the end result being wines with exceptional balance and elegance due to the slightly lower alcohol level.

Cesar Florido Harvest Notes 2011

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:43:00 +0000

Harvest started August 29 due to an exceptionally early flowering season. It was a particularly cool summer with nice, even weather. Although harvest was advanced, yields were actually smaller than average but with excellent quality. The Palomino was harvested right before some light rainfall with the Moscatel harvested shortly thereafter. The rain did not adversely affect harvest or the subsequent drying of the grapes for the Moscatel Pasas.

The photo below shows the age old tradition of drying the grapes on open fields of sand in Chipiona. 56,300 kilos of Moscatel de Alejandria (Chipiona Clone) were laid out to dry with a potential 25 ºBx. After two weeks drying in optimum condition the grapes were fermented and then fortified to 17 ºBx.

Ameztoi Harvest Notes 2011

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:34:00 +0000

Harvest at Ameztoi started two weeks early this year to due an early flowering season. A day before starting harvest Ignacio Ameztoi noted that this should be quite a year for all their wines. It started with a beautiful spring that lead to very even flowering of the vines followed by great weather with lack of hail or other adverse conditions. Light rainfall throughout the summer provided just the right amount of moisture to properly dictate alcohol levels. Due to an unusually cool but sunny year the wines should have great aromatic profiles. Most promising are the Beltza vines which this year came in with terrific ripeness.

An interview with Laura from Dominio do Bibei

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:24:00 +0000

Ramblins on Europe Part 3 May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 10:02:00 +0000

Rioja Alavesa is special and when we step into the north of Alavesa and taste with Ostatu the identity of this province is clear. All things are very Basque here in this striking terroir along the Cantabrian Mountain Range. The wines are now finding a clear path. Inigo is at the helm and doing a great job here. The trips to the US and the time understanding the way forward are all paying off. Interesting how much more structured their 2008's are than others. Next we head to Remelluri in Labastida. Literally down the street (ok a few kilometers) but the wines are different. maybe because the elevations are higher, the wines are almost lighter. The vineyards here are also tremendously beautiful. Telmo Rodriguez is practicing a philosophy akin to French model. A chateau with its vineyards and all done while respecting the integrity of the environment. Next we travel to La Rioja and and visit Conde De Hervias. The vineyards here were the first to be used in replanting Rioja after the phyloxera epidemic. Centenial vines on the right bank of the Ebro River. Iñigo has three different wines coming from his 35 hectars parcel. The wines have great acidity and reflect a modernist vision of Rioja Alta.

Ramblins on Europe Part 2 May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:14:00 +0000

This is a continuation to a post about our travels in May in Europe.

We start up with our group for a weeks treck through Northern Spain. Starting in Getaria, Txakoli is flowing at Ameztoi as we take in the ocean air and admire the views. From there we explore Rioja and jump into the subject that continues to fascinate us Rioja.

We have several days to really take in the terruño. Rioja is this valley surrounded by two mountain ranges. In between theses ranges (Sierra de La Demanda to the south and Sierra de La Cantabria to the North) the Ebro river flows. The theory goes that there are varied climates or terruños depending on which side of the river you are located. So Rioja judged by its varied climates and soil types like all other great wines! We like this and we begin by hanging out with Florentino at Luberri. He shows off his great viticultural prowess at his sites where our newest prodigal son comes from: Orlegi. Sandy Soils right on the Ebro river in Rioja Alavesa in Elciego. I see the site, I get it. This is a young wine made to show off the fruit. Sand will do that and the proximity to the river cools the place at night. The wine is bright and delicious.

Pastrami and Cider

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 22:22:00 +0000

So my office knows this all too well. Up until recently I couldn’t find satisfaction with my pastrami options here in the south. I admit it I am a pretty hard core fan of Katz Deli in NYC. As much as I’ve complained I am now growing fond of the home grown pastrami’s that are appearing in our neighborhood...I just need to appreciate their differences. Recently, I discovered that cider is a delicious option with this lovely creation.

Lucky for us we have plenty of options including our latest entry: Bordatto. These are hand crafted products that are breaking the traditional concept of CIDER. Heirloom varietals fermented using indigenous yeasts. Basa Jaun is intensely fruity with great earthy notes..we had it recently with a pastrami sandwich and the paring was as good as the traditional pairing (celery soda). Txala Parta is not for the faint but boy would it be good with some hearty foods.

Ramblins on Europe Part 1 May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:20:00 +0000

Back in form from a month sojourn in Europe. France is looking very interesting as we spent a few days in the Jura. Certainly a fascinating area and one where we will be spending a lot more time. The whites are fascinating but the reds (Trousseau and Poulsard) are also very compelling. In Arbois we have run into somebody who is truly operating at a level of precision that is compelling. The trick will be to convince them to export. It's our second visit and we are hopeful. The same day while walking around we run into Jacque Puffeney and he kindly opens his cellar so we can taste with him. He is friendly and seemingly characteristic of the people of this region. Friendly but not in an overt sort of way. The wines are beautiful. The next day we run through the Rhone and nothing really strikes us but then again we are just passing through on the way to visit my aunt and uncle in Romans.

We fly to Barcelona to meet our group and head for what is to be the last of these 9 day junkets. Alex and I grab some great food at Tres Porquets in Barcelona. The food is all about raw material and although the location is far it is worth it. Next we venture to Barmut for a night cap and what we end up getting is a full on Speakeasy venture. After getting the no we can't seat you speech we insist and get escorted to a private room in a building where Barmut is located. After some delay in front of a guy with a mike in a vestibule we get ushered upstairs to Bar Muti. Great cocktails and live cuban sounds..not bad for a night in BCN!

All About Site in Muscadet

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:21:00 +0000

On the final leg of our journey we rolled into a great site that it is from our oldest friend in the business Bernard Chéreau of Chéreau Carré in Muscadet. We finished our journey through Europe here and I am humbled by this incredible domaine. Unfortunately, as I spent so much time building up our Spain portfolio, visits to Bernard’s cellar were infrequent. On my previous visit he had surprised me with the incredibly complex Clos de L’Oisilinière. A Muscadet aged upwards of 4 years on the lees. We bought it that first year when we tasted it but unfortunately time did not permit a visit. This year I was not going to miss visiting this famed Clos. Knowing that it was a vineyard surrounded by an oak forest at the confluence of the Sèvre and Maine rivers, I knew I would not be disappointed. And that would turn out to be a gross understatement! This wild site is exactly at the location where the Sèvre and the Maine rivers merge. The wind blowing through this ten hectar site, the south facing hills of vines upwards of 80 year old vines on Orto-Gneiss soils brought a feeling of knowing that one is standing on a privileged site. Solid bed rock underneath straight to the rivers. Double Premières Côtes!

Bernard explained to us about the inherent simplicity of how this wine is made. There are two cuvées: the one we bring in named after this famed Clos and a second known as Chateau L’Oisilinières en Rameau. The wines are all vinified in cement tanks underground at a facility on site. The wines sit undisturbed in this dark and quiet location aging on the lees. The Clos spends four years on the lees and the Chateau six months before being bottled. This is not Muscadet for beginners, steely and flinty with incredible persistence. This site made me reflect about the travel of the last 18 days and all the sites we had visited starting with Sherry and ending with Muscadet. In the end it really is all about having the location the rest is static, a diversion from the truth. When you have site you have it all. We are fortunate to represent some great sites and this visit reminded me of why I continue to work with Bernard Chereau after 28 years. It is not only that he has been a friend in the business but that he also happens to farm some the greatest plots.

Continued adventures in Sherry...Cesar Florido and Chipiona- 25 meters from the ocean!

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:26:00 +0000

So here is this village just south of Sanlucar de Barrameda right on the Atlantic Ocean that nobody has ever heard of unless you know the famous singer Rocío Jurado!

This place was a revelation. There used to be 83 wineries and today two independents and one cooperative remain. I found it through my research for the origins of Moscatel and found the grand master wizard of Moscatel Cesar Florido. But that is just the beginning of the story.

Me meet Cesar and drive to Chipiona. We stop to have a bit of lunch at a seaside restaurant and Cesar pulls out a fino..what? Of course everyone makes a fino but when you are 25 meters from the ocean all bets are off. This fino is steely and mineral and just plain delicious. This doesn’t fit into my neat plan to only bring in a few wines representative of each bodega and nobody told me why a village in Sherry no one has ever heard of could produce such a stunning fino. All of this is part of the incredibly complex and unknown place that is Sherry. How such an important product like this is kept a mystery is beyond me. We go on to taste his oloroso and it is another gem. But of course we are here for Moscatel (I keep reminding myself) and they are stunning. They are listed on our website and they will be the introduction to Cesar’s winery but I know this is just the beginning of what we will import from Cesar.

Sherry is a gold mine of historical artifacts that we are just beginning to un earth. So many more things will become apparent with time and I look forward to this amazing discovery process.

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Alexander) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:24:00 +0000

Barrio Bajo, the story of a micro climate of Sanlucar de Barrameda

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:47:00 +0000

Sherry is a subject of infinite complexity and our trip proved this point exactly. We have been working with La Cigarrera for over eight years now. In all the time that we have been traveling to Sanlucar, no one mentioned or rightly explained to us an amazing factor of the existence of a unique micro climate in Sanlucar.

In Sanlucar there are two micro cliamtes: barrio bajo and barrio alto (or the rest of the area.) Barrio Bajo is where La Cigarrera is located. The geography is such that Sanlucar being right on the water is at sea level for the first kilometer or so and then suddenly it rises up about 500 feet and flatens out somewhat. This creates a sail that captures the crazy humid poniente air. The effect is that La Cigarrera is trapped constantly in an incredibly perfect environment for the creation of flor. Oh and the flor! The flor here is thick, very thick because of this crazy micro climate and the smell is what I can only describe poorly as gun flint or ash. For the longest time I didn't understand why this was but now it is obvious that this geography creates a Manzanilla unlike any other. Other Manzanilla's have more of a fresh, floral or chamomile like aromas. Not La Cigarrera. Its location creates this wild, sauvage aroma that combines with an incredible fresh palate to produce one of the most unique wines of the world.

...and now we finally have wee-fee!

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Alexander) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 07:33:00 +0000

Wow. We have been on a whirlwind trip through Jerez and off the wee-fee for a while, but now we are back in Ribera del Duero to visit the inimitable Jesus Sastre and have lots of pictures and stories for you...

Goings on in Jerez-

We visited the newest additions to our group of Sherry producers Cesar Florido of Chipiona and Bodegas Grant in El Puerto de Santa Maria. We had an amazing lunch at Restaurant Peña on the ocean with Cesar Florido who introduced us to the fifth village of Sherry, Chipiona. It turns out that Sherry is even more exciting than we originally expected with a vast divide between the larger industrial houses that made the area famous and the small alamacenistas who supply them. The shocking reality in Chipiona is that Cesar is one of three bodegas left in a village which used to be home to eighty-three. The history and tradition in this area is strong, as is the sense of terruño which runs through the wines.

Cesar took us on a walking tour between his three Bodegas in Cipiona which demonstrated the subtle shift between the microclimates which shape the aging in these ancient bodegas. It turns out that Chipiona is right next to Sanlucar de Barrameda and shares a similar microclimate. Cesar is famous in Chipiona for his three different Moscatels grown on soils known as arena. He also produces a Fino from a solera housed a mere 25 meters from the ocean, which is evident as you sense the subtle shift in wind and temperature as you approach the bodega.

We also had our minds blown at Bodegas Grant, a producer who just started estate bottling just three years ago. Edmundo Grant crafts a Fino that is completely different than any other we encountered. His wines had a sense of freshness and a gorgeous floral component that kept it light and refreshing by his unique micro climate and unique flor.

Of course, we also visited La Cigarrera in Sanlucar de Barrameda and the pride of Jerez at El Maestro Sierra. This was an exceptional visit. Their unique location in a "sub-zone" of Sanlucar de Barrameda was an amazing discovery. More later ona that subject.

The heart of our first ever Sherry camp included an all day seminar and tasting at El Maestro Sierra. We learned about the ancient history of the area from Dr. Maria Carmen Borrego, an expert in the history of the region and the most prolific author on the subject. Visiting El Maestro Sierra is mind numbing as it is one of the last remaining traditional bodegas who have not changed their methods and make classic Sherry as it was made a hundred years ago. El Maestro takes it's rightful place with the other greatest estates of the world. There is so much to say about Sherry and El Maestro Sierra, which we will report on later.

Now we have to run off to Rioja... stay tuned for more reports on Sherry, Ribera del Duero and Rioja.

Prince's Hot Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:28:00 +0000

Day three of our road trip thru the Midwest-South finds us in Nashville TN. As usual we are trying to figure out what to eat. After much research we find out about Nashville's penchant for Hot Fried Chicken. We come across Prince's as the ultimate Hot Fried Chicken. Now, when these guys say hot they mean hot! We get a whole chicken and dig in. It is hot but boy is it great! I'm in tears half way through and have to eventually stop. The crunchy skin is really what it is about. It's like a cracklin' feast. And sure the next day is painful..but hell what isn't.

Real Fish in Baltimore

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 22:34:00 +0000

The Black Olive is a restaurant doing fish the way it was intended. I sat down after a serious day on the road looking for some simple grub and decided on the Black Olive which I hadn't been to in a long time. It's a Greek restaurant serving up whole fish served table side. From the Greek starters to the exquisite NC Sea Bass, this place was a treat. Kudos to the dueling waiters whole simultaneously prepared two whole fish table side.

A real treat!

A winter wine dinner

noreply@blogger.com (aw) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:37:00 +0000

[All photos courtesy of Meg Kassabaum. Thank you Meg!]

Last month, just to make sure everybody was properly warmed up for the holidays, we put together a full-on bring-your-A-game wine dinner. 5 courses, 5 wines, all original recipes. And I believe we can safely say it was a success...

We fed 14 people that evening, more than we have in the past, but it went off without a hitch (well, with a couple minor hitches, but none that guests ever had to know about...).

We started off with a number of small finger foods for people to snack on while everybody arrived and settled in.

There were farmer's market radishes with salt and butter.

There were boquerones (marinated Spanish white anchovies) and marinated mushrooms.

There was smoked salmon.

And there was Galician canned pulpo.

All of this with plenty of Cava Avinyó.

Off to a good start, we sat down to a spicy roasted tomato soup with garlicky NC shrimp (from our friends at Core Sound Seafood).

For wine, we drank Do Ferreiro's Rebisaca, always a winner with shellfish.

Up next, fresh whole wheat homemade paste made by Lindsey. It's topped with blanched strips of locally-grown Tuscan kale, and Turkish-spiced ground lamb.

Here we moved onto to reds, in this case the fresh, vibrant, yet powerful Garnatxa 2009 from Joan d'Anguera.

Then, it was time for some medallions of roasted pork tenderloin along with garlic brussel sprouts. The sauce is made from cashew cream, (dairy) cream, ancho chilies, and oloroso sherry to produce a deep, rich flavor.

Which of course required a deeper, richer, wine, one which could also handle some spices. For this we turned to an older Rioja, the 2005 Monje Amestoy from Luberri. I'm happy to report the wine was up to the task.

The oloroso sherry in this sauce with the pork provided the transition into our final course, which was paired with the Sangre y Trabajadero oloroso from Gutierrez Colosia.

On the plate were dried dates stuffed with a blue goat cheese, then wrapped in bacon and broiled until crispy. They sat atop a bed of spinach topped with a light and simple balsamic vinaigrette.

People had different opinions about which was their favorite dish of the evening, and which was their favorite wine, but it was pretty much unanimously agreed that this was the killer pairing.

We are already scheming about the next one....

Until then, cheers!

Oyster Roast With Core Sound Seafood at Eco Farms

noreply@blogger.com (André) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 21:25:00 +0000

On a wintry day we came together to eat oysters and drink wine/cider. It was a beautiful day at Eco Farms in Carrboro. A wet snow fell as John prepared the fire. But first a bit of background on some of the folks:

John and Cindy own Eco Farms which supplies our great farmers' market and many restaurants in the community with delicious produce and pig products.

Core Sound Seafood is an exciting venture about a year old that connects consumers with our fishing community in North Carolina. Anna is one of the organizers and put together this little initial gathering. Anna arrived with the oysters and I immediately dug into the first oyster. What an amazing thing to savor in our first snow fall! Over the last couple years we have been discovering that we have oysters here! The first was a revelation; a small, briny creature from Lockwood Folly Island. Core Sound oysters are less briny but still tasty. On to the wine and cider..naturally I brought Txakoli and Albariño but in addition Kevin from Acme Restaurant insisted on Cider. it proved to be the best beverage with these oysters. I'm a big fan of different wines with different oysters and this proved the case. The earthiness of Isastegi cider with the brackish quality of those oysters proved irresistible. It also helped that I brought a mignonette made with apple cider vinegar from our cider producer in Asturias. Trabanco Sidra and Poma Sparkling Cider also went marvelously well with the oysters. The Albariño and Txakoli did the trick to but the cider was just a great surprise.

Stuffed pumpkins, with cider

noreply@blogger.com (aw) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:42:00 +0000

In these autumnal times, the culinary mind inevitably wanders towards such things as pumpkins, apples, cheese, etc. And cider (or rather, in our case, sidra/sagardo). Cooking with sidra can produce beautiful results, as Holly has already demonstrated in a previous post.

It was in this spirit that this latest dish came out of our oven at home. This a stuffed pie pumpkin filled with rice, caramelized onions, chunks of fresh apple, Italian sausage (from Giacomo's in Greensboro, best sausage around if you can find it), and some shiitakes from our backyard. We then poured some Trabanco over the whole thing, topped it with cheese, and baked in the oven for a while. The cheese melted and browned, the pumpkin flesh was softened and infused with cider, and the whole thing came out beautifully. An autumnal triumph....