WTN: Memorial Day wines (none more than $20, inc. 71 DDC)

Memorial Day was about as perfect weatherwise as one could imagine- mid 70s, bright sunshine, light breeze, low humidity. And a fairly perfect crowd of friends (about 35 adults and 10 kids) joined us for a great party. Rather than make a huge amount of one thing, I had gotten several different "main courses," and grilled beef ribs, flank steak, salmon, shrimp, and hot dogs- others contributed venison sausage, venison chops, and a pork loin for the fire. Of course not just flesh- also grilled asparagus, squash, and Japanese eggplant (and Betsy made peanut sauce for the latter). I made mango salsa and Betsy made potato salad, others brought a cornucopia of salads, appetizers, and desserts. We were sated, and people lingered for hours after the official end time. With a big crowd mostly concentrated on QPR wines, and some friends also brought some:

White
2007 Drouhin St Veran
Good acids, clean citrus fruit, very long finish for inexpensive Chardonnay. Some interesting hay and chalk notes. Glad I bought some ($12.50). B+

2008 Clos Roche Blanche Touraine Sauvignon #2
Bright and sassy, gooseberries with just a edge of grass, nice acidity, another winner from CRB. B+

2004 Musar Blanc(Bekaa Valley)
(this isn't the Ch. Musar, but what I think is basically the 3rd wine after the Chateau and Hochar). Ron thinks it's corked (it's in screwcap, but still possible), but I don't. I do think there is something a bit bacterial and a bit offputting going on. I'm not usually someone who finds a little brett a problem, but this isn't something I want to drink -sweaty socks. C-

2008 Hofer Gruner Veltliner
in the liter bottle. Light, easy, refreshing. B-

2007 Jakob Schneider Riesling Kabinett (Nahe)
also in liter. Peaches and a little cherry, light, fairly sweet, good. B

2007 Paul Pernot Bourgogne Blanc
Clean fresh apple/pear fruit, nice soil tones, straightforward and delicious. B/B+

Pink
2008 Domaine Rimbert Petit Cochon Bronzé
Think this is just VdT, but Rimbert is in St Chinian I believe. Cute pig on label, I had meant to paste "swine flu vaccine" over the name, but ran out of time. Cherries and orange zest, good acids, fun little wine. B

2007 Pigmentum Malbec Rose
Didn't note area, Argentine? Bigger, a hint of sweetness, ok. B-/C+

NV Latitude 50 Brut Rose (Rheingau)
Pretty strawberry fruit, light, just a hint of sweetness, good length. B


Red
2005 Andrew's Vat "Alder Ridge" Syrah
Quite ripe, light tannins, not very deep though weighty. B-/C+

Lancatay Cabernet Sauvignon
Didn't get vintage on this , Argentine. Sweet oak-chippy, not much spine, fruit forward, not appealing to me C+

2007 Breton " Trinch!" Bourgueil
Ah, more like it. Black cherries, a little herb and green tobacco, refreshing acidity, light tannins, easy to drink. B+

2007 La Vieille Ferme
Juicy, but with a bit of backbone. Uncomplicated and likeable. B-

2007 Iche "Les Heretiques"
Somehow this was gone before I ever got a taste!

1971 Domaine de Chevalier (Graves)
OK, have to open something at least a bit "serious." I love getting stuff cheap because of damp stained labels. Lots of bricking, black plums overlaid with leather and forest floor. Tannins fully resolved, but this is still quite alive and a saved portion holds up well for close to an hour in glass. Seamless, balanced, not a "look at me"wine but a fine example of classic mature Graves. A-

2007 Brun (Terres Dorees) Cotes de Brouilly.
Clean red fruits, a little espresso edge, nice Beaujolais. B/B+

The hosts had fun, the guests had fun, the dogs had fun. Yippee.


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency. 

Nice lineup Dale. Some of those - particularly the Breton and Schneider - sound really good value. And where on earth does one find DDC (or for that matter any other older Bdx drinking well) under $20?!

The DDC was on winebid. I paid $20 so with premium to be honest it was $23. I often bid on Bdx from classic but not 1st growth producers from good but not "vintage of the century" years. So things like DDC, Giscours, then Canon & Rauzan Segla, and up to P-Lalande and Figeac, from years like '66, '71, 75, '79,'88. I also bid on '70, '78, '83 (esp. Margaux), but those tend to go for a bit more. I never bid if seepage or low fills, but moisture damaged labels are actually a good sign, but reduce price.

Of course not everything is a winner, but at low enough prices I've been generally happy with results.

Sounds fun!

Ron thinks it's corked (it's in screwcap, but still possible), but I don't. I do think there is something a bit bacterial and a bit offputting going on. 

I'm all for screwcaps, but isn't it too semantically licentious to use the term "corked" here? Corks always get blamed whenever we find bacterial spoilage because they are the usual suspects, but there are a number of other potential causes. With a screwcap, I don't think we should use the word "corked," even if it's become common practice to use it somewhat generically as meaning spoiled.

[David M. Bueker]

Probably true Oswaldo, but it's entered the vernacular, and will be hard to change.

One thing with screw capped wines is the possibility that the cap was given a hard shot at some point, thus weakening the seal, and allowing air to get in to spoil the wine. Certainly not "corked" but could account for the bottle being off.

I'm all for screwcaps, but isn't it too semantically licentious to use the term "corked" here? Corks always get blamed whenever we find bacterial spoilage because they are the usual suspects, but there are a number of other potential causes. With a screwcap, I don't think we should use the word "corked," even if it's become common practice to use it somewhat generically as meaning spoiled.

Note I wrote I didn't think it corked. To be precise, I never use corked to refer to "bacterial spoilage"- I believe TCA infection is chemical, not bacterial. But "corked" is the accepted shorthand for TCA infection. It's true that there can be other ways that TCA can get in wine (systemic winery infection)and so as I noted it is possible for a screwcapped wine to be "corked." A few people use that was an argument against screwcaps, but to me that's like arguing for smoking because there are other ways to get lung cancer.

Betsy was playing last night (Alceste at Rose Hall with Deborah Voigt) so I had leftovers from party, with leftover wine.
The Pernot Bourgogne showed quite well, fuller, more Pulignyesque than simple AC
The CRB also was still bright, though riper than I remember from day before.
The Musar still had that unpleasant musky (not musty) note. Not textbook brett, but there are many strains of brett, or it could be some other bacteria.
The Brun CdBrlly was rounder, more like a Bourgogne, but still good.
I didn't like the Schneider was much, seemed flat.

I wasn't referring to the case at hand, it was a "procedural objection" to the use of the term corked when there was no cork involved. Sematically, it is simply impossible for a screwcapped wine to be corked.

I understand David's point, that it's become common usage, but I still don't like it in the case of a screwcapped wine.

What would that do to "corkage" fees?

What would that do to "corkage" fees?

Touché!

I wasn't referring to the case at hand, it was a "procedural objection" to the use of the term corked when there was no cork involved. Sematically, it is simply impossible for a screwcapped wine to be corked.

Actually, semantically nothing is impossible.

Words mean whatever we (as a culture) decide they mean. To me, "corked" means TCA-infected. Words take on meaning. Have you ever described a wine as maderized? Did you mean it was actually Madeira? In English one can be a cuckold without raising another's child, when a military group is decimated it doesn't mean 10% killed, etc. Words evolve. I don't know anyone who doesn't use "corked" when discussing the high incidence of TCA in late 80s Ducru or late 90s BV. although cork only caused it's normal failure rate.

Maybe the whole winery was "corked"....

Systemic TCA

Systemic TCA tainting occurs when TCA has infiltrated a winery via means other than cork and can affect entire production of wine instead of just a few bottles. This occurs when wine barrels, drain pipes, wooden beams in the cellars, and rubber hoses are tainted by TCA. Sometimes entire cellars have to be rebuilt in order to extinguish all potential systemic TCA culprits. Rubber hoses or gaskets have a high affinity for TCA and therefore concentrate TCA from the atmosphere. Wine or water that subsequently passes through infected hoses can become tainted with TCA. Another possible means of TCA contamination is through the use of Bentonite, a clay preparation used in treating wine for heat stability. Bentonite has a high affinity for TCA and will absorb TCA and related chemicals in the atmosphere. If an open bag of Bentonite is stored in an environment with a high (1-2 ng/g or ppb) TCA concentration, this TCA will be absorbed in the Bentonite and transferred to the wine lot to which the Bentonite is added.

It is notable that often this systemic TCA will impart a trace (1-2 ng/L or ppt) to the wine, which itself is not detected by most consumers. However, with this high baseline level of TCA in bottled wine, even a relatively clean cork can elevate the TCA level in the wine above threshold levels (4-6 ng/L or ppt), rendering the wine "corked."

The primary chemical precursor to TCA is TCP (2,4,6-Trichlorophenol), an anti-microbial agent used in processing wood. Molds (and some suspect bacteria such as Streptomyces[3]) are able to de-toxify TCP by methylating the -OH to -OCH3, which is not toxic. Chlorinated phenols can form chemically when hypochlorous acid (HOCl-, one of the active forms of chlorine) or chlorine radicals come in contact with wood (untreated, such as barrels or pallets.) The use of chlorine or other halogen-based sanitizing agents is being phased out of the wine industry in favor of peroxide or peracetic acid preparations. It should be noted that Chlorine dioxide has not been shown to produce these spontaneous chlorophenols. Wine Spectator has reported that such California wineries as Pillar Rock Vineyard, Beaulieu Vineyard, E & J Gallo Winery and Chateau Montelena have had trouble with Systemic TCA.[4]