Gloria Ferrer 2007 Carneros Pinot Noir, a great bargain
Barb and I dropped in to hear Conjunction Funktion, with whom our son Bassman Dan is playing these days. Arena's was packed.
When looking for a good sandwich and no need to do Jack Nicholson to get your preference, go there. Choose from a list of breads, rolls and condiments of well over 30 choices. Then put whatever cold cut, cheese and vegetable you normally picture on a sandwich or choose those combos suggested on the menu. Fair prices, decent beer list and good service. Arena's is open year round.
Lots of wine this week. The sales are everywhere. Let's kick it with Geo. DuBoeuf Jean Descombes Beaujolais 2009, 93 points, on sale $16/bottle. Black cherry, raspberry ganache and rose aromas on a light tannin frame with pie spice throughout leads to a clean, acid finish.
My friends in New Jersey at Gary's are offering a case for $90 delivered. Three each of a tropical fruit- and flower-filled Torrontes Bodegas Callia Alta Argentina 2010. An unoaked French Delatour Premiere Cuvee Chard 2010 with great apple and pear flavors.
A dark, berry-filled, smooth, and supple Washington State Snowline Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 and El Jamon Tempranillo 2009, whose fruit core is nuanced by vanilla and oak flavors. I know it is against the stupid Delaware law to import.
You know, the one devised by the same guys who made a bunch of deals with a local distributor for a confessed series of quid pro quos, so I'm suggesting you contact your local store to put a similar deal together for you. You don't want the wine Gestapo knockin' at your door.
The recently reviewed Domaine des Grand Perierres Sancerre 2010 is on sale at $190/ case.
Classic grassy, herbaceous sauvignon blanc nose. Lots of gooseberry, lemon-lime, and melon. There’s great acidity in the wine, giving it some lift with a long finish of fruit flavors.
Gloria Ferrer is well known to readers of this column for its wonderful California sparklers. However, you may not know the firm makes a pretty good Pinot Noir (PN) from the Carneros vineyard. Many contend the only good good PN from the southern ends of Napa and Sonoma comes from Carneros, which spans both valleys. They also extol the 2007 vintage as the best in at least a decade. You can imagine my surprise when Ferrer released the 2007 Pinots priced under $15. This superb wine has ripe raspberry, cherry and blackberry fruit, but also a wonderful earthiness of mushrooms, and the tannin-acid balance is near perfect. Run, don't walk, or better yet call or email a store right now. Then buy, decant and drink. This is a 94-point wine from Wine Enthusiast and the best PN priced under $25 I've ever sampled. Won't last long at this price.
Going upscale, 2006 Domaine Rapet Pere et Fils Pernand Vergelesses is a Burgundy made of PN from 40-year-old vines. An elegant PN fruit nose with hints of wood opens to well-balanced, textured, persistent wine with a very long, deep finish. Meadows of Burghound rated it 89.
When Jancis Robinson slammed the vintage from the region, the price took a big hit. Although I am a huge fan of Ms. Robinson, particularly on Burgundy, she has a fault of painting with a very wide brush. The Rapet was decidedly better than many of its neighbors. This was borne out as its price rose to the $50 range. On sale under $30, it is 91-plus. You may wish to note that Pernand Vergelesses is in the northern end of Cote de Beaune right next to Corton.
Many famous wine snobs claim they planted the red on the wrong side of the hill, the western slope below Corton's Chardonnay. They often surprise, and I believe it has to do with the elevation and the flatter, more fertile floor with the chalk below the surface. When I am shopping for everyday Burgundy, I look here first. As I have written on many occasions, a great wine's nearby neighbors are often as good, and if lesser known or lower cru are generally a better deal in a great vintage. Rapet's 2007 is one.
