Costco buys of the week

A couple of new purchases just to run up the balance on my 2% cash-back Costco Executive Membership card before the end of the year...  The first is probably a shoe-in for the always-fun Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2008, the lead-up to which should start in a couple of weeks:

Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel 2007, Sonoma County, CA

"Smart Buys:  A seductive and vigorous Zinfandel, with smoky black cherry and blueberry aromas and youthful wild berry, sage and cracked pepper flavors that have a lingering finish and zesty tannins.  Drink now through 2012.  68,000 cases made."

~~ Tim Fish, Wine Spectator Advance for 12 December 2008 issue

And, (don't laugh!):

Kirkland Signature (by Alexander Murry & Co.), Macallan Distillery Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 18 Years Old (distilled 1989), with Sherry Cask Finish

Kirkland is the Costco house brand.  Apparently this is new-make whiskey ('scuse the Irish spelling!) from Macallan, barrel-aged by Andrew Murray for 18 years in bourbon casks and 6 months to finish in sherry casks.  The real thing, The Macallan 18 Years Old (several versions), one of the best Speyside single malts, usually retails for a lot more than $80.  From the bottle:

"...dark in color with hints of honey, spice, clove and peat on the nose, and displays flavors of sweet sherry, caramel and hints of orange.  With a long elegant finish, this scotch is perfect as an after-dinner drink."

Sounds odd, I know, but private labels have a long tradition in Scotland and Ireland (Green Spot Irish Whiskey from Mitchell & Son of Kildare Street in Dublin is a favorite example of mine).  From the Wall Street Journal:

"Plenty of chatter on Web bulletin boards has questioned whether the Kirkland malt could be proper Macallan whisky -- perhaps, some speculated, this was a batch gone wrong that the distillery offloaded at a discount.  Not so.  It was just that 20 years ago, Macallan had excess capacity.  "We were still producing more liquid than we could sell," according to Patricia Lee in Macallan's marketing department.  "We sold the surplus new-make spirit to independent bottlers to store and bottle in their own time under their own label."

Bought a few for Xmas gifts (and one for me!)...

[Not counting the 2%...Seghesio: Costco, $16.79; release, $24.  Macallan: $79.99; The Macallan 18 year old Sherry Oak, ~$140.]

Note added in proof:  The Seghesio was #10 on Wine Spectator's "Top 100 Wines of 2008" list, although a controversial choice if one pays attention to the online commentary on the ebob forum.

Dégustation de vin - 12 September 2008

Bodega Luigi Bosca Pinot Noir Reserva 2006, Lujan de Cuyo, Argentina

A 100% Pinot Noir, aged 8 months in French oak, from Bordega Luigi Bosca's El Paraiso vineyard in the Lujan de Cuyo department (Argentina's first official DOC) located near Mendoza city.

Kevin's tasting notes from 25 July 2008:

"Light-bodied Pinot with flavors of black cherries and bitter-sweet chocolate.  Well-balanced tannins and acidity.  14% abv."

From Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:

"The 2006 Pinot Noir Reserva is similarly styled but with greater depth and concentration.  Both of these stylish Pinot Noirs can be enjoyed over the next 5 years.  89 points."

~~ Jay Miller, 1 December 2007, Wine Advocate

And:

"More than a century after his grandfather, Leoncio Arizu, planted the first vines for Bodega Luigi Bosca in the foothills of the Argentine Andes, Alberto Arizu finds, as he travels the world, he still has to explain that Argentina does, indeed, make wine.  Long a top-rated winery in the Mendoza region, Luigi Bosca for years has exported more than half of its wines.  Still, promoting them at the London Wine Fair, he found himself drawing world maps to demonstrate even to knowledgeable wine fans that Argentina is at a proper latitude to produce good wine.  Selling wine in such developing markets as China and Russia also is a challenge.  "People are very rich or very poor.  There's nothing in the middle.  The Chinese and the Russians drink all the best wines," he says - even if they don't really understand them.  On the other hand, he says he once watched a Chinese diner dilute his Chateau Lafite with 7-Up.  Even the wine-savvy United States is a challenge.  "The East and West coasts and big cities like Chicago are quite sophisticated about Argentine wines," he says.  "But smaller cities in Indiana, Ohio have very little experience."  [Article goes on to discuss how the Malbec grape has put Argentine wines on the map.]...

...Recommended:  ...2006 Luigi Bosca Pinot Noir Reserve, "El Paraiso", Maipu, Mendoza:  black cherries and cinnamon; very dry; firm tannins; $19.

~~ Fred Tasker, 9 July 2008, McClatchy News Service

[$16.63 (counting 5% discount for 1/2 case) at vinodivino in Newton MA, who also have the 2005 bottling that Wine Spectator gave 91 pts and called a "Smart Buy".]

Top 10 wine movies

Speaking of Sideways, W. Blake Gray of the San Francisco Chronicle has a list of the "Top 10 Wine Movies", based on the best movies that feature wine, but not necessarily the best movies about wine (hopefully the upcoming movie "Bottle Shock", about the so-called "Judgment of Paris" tasting in 1976 between American and French wines, will join Sideways in the latter category).

In no particular order:

1) "Casablanca" (1942)

2) "Dr. No" (1962)

3) "French Kiss" (1995)

4) "Gigi" (1958)

5) "Killer Bees" (1974)

6) "The Muppet Movie" (1979)

7) "Notorious" (1946)

8) "Sideways" (2004)

9) "Silence of the Lambs" (1991)

10) "The Earth is Mine" (1959)

Runners-up included:

1) "An Affair to Remember" (1957)

2) "Blood and Wine" (1996)

3) "Disclosure" (1994)

4) "Dracula" (1931)

5) "The Godfather" (1972)

6) "Mondovino" (2004)

7) "The Parent Trap" (1998)

8) "Seconds" (1966)

9) "Sex, Lies and Videotape" (1989)

10) "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002)

11) "They Knew What They Wanted" (1940)

12) "The Unholy Wife" (1957)

13) "A Walk in the Clouds" (1995)

14) "Year of the Comet" (1992)

Of course, Gray came up with this list before the release of the hands-down greatest wine (& cheese) movie of all time:

Ratatouille

Do you want some popcorn with that '61 Latour?

Required reading (& viewing)

"I do like to think about the life of a wine, how it's a living thing.  I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing, how the sun was shining that summer, or if it rained... what the weather was like.  I think about all those people who tended the grapes...  I love how a wine continues to evolve, how every time I open a bottle it's going to taste different than if I had opened it on any other day.  Because a bottle of wine is actually alive; it's contantly evolving...  And it tastes so @#$%ing good!"

~~ Virginia Madsen, playing Maya, in Sideways

A tale of two wines (or how I learned to stop worrying and love the drive to Lexington)

I was vegging on my couch, surfing the Internet on a recent Saturday morning (in my 'jammies, if you really must know), when beep, "You've got mail!", and an e-mail arrived from Berman's Wines & Spirits in Lexington MA.  "Oh COOL!", they are discounting the recently released Casa Lapostolle Clos Alpata 2005, a flagship meritage from Chile.  Hmmm...interesting...   Turns out, I had been debating whether to buy a few bottles of Clos Alpalta, or the competing 100% Cabernet Sauvignon flagship Concha Y Tora Don Meclchor 2005.  Both wines had just received 96 points and glowing reviews from Wine Spectator:

Casa Lapostolle, Clos Apalta 2005 -- "Gorgeous aromas of warm ganache and mocha lead to a rich, velvety palate loaded with currant, fig paste, black licorice, cassis bush and bramble notes.  The long, juicy finish has great grip and density, with echoes of graphite, dark fruit and mineral.  Should greatly reward cellaring. Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.  Best from 2009 through 2019.  5897 cases made." (96 points; Highly recommended.)

~~ James Molesworth, 15 June 2008, Wine Spectator

Concha Y Toro, Don Melchor 2005 -- "Still very tight, but the tannins that lead the way now are sleek and refined, and should easily meld into the huge core of roasted chestnut, black currant paste, warm fig and tar. Has a long, coffee- and loam-tinged finish. Best from 2009 through 2019. 18,000 cases made." (96 points; Highly recommended.)

~~ James Molesworth, 15 June 2008, Wine Spectator

As usual, when faced with tough vino-decision making, I waffled, waiting for someone else to make my choice a little easier (mostly likely when one of the wines wins "Wine of the Year" and doubles in price, forcing me to buy the loser -- remember the CDP's last year? -- not an impossible probability, considering both wines have been selected to Wine Spectator's Top 100 list 2 times each [Clos Apalta was #2 and #3 in 2004 (95 pts) and 2003 (94 pts), and Don Melchor was #4 in both 2006 (96 pts) and 2005 (95 pts)].

Actually, I was leaning towards the Don Melchor, since it was a little less expensive and I had previously enjoyed the spectacular 2003 (96 pts, Wine Spectator) with a monster porterhouse at the new Capital Grille in Burlington MA (remember that one Michael and John?).

Well, thanks to Joel B's e-mail, mind made up, off I went to pick up the discounted Clos Apalta ($5 off its list of $75 -- OK, not much of a discount, but every little bit helps).  Jump ahead to me pulling out a credit card to pay for my four bottles, each lovingly wrapped in semi-opaque tissue paper but minus the trademark oak box, and a little light went off in my head: "Kevin, you had better make sure they pulled the correct vintage."  Well, you guessed it:  behind the tissue paper was the 2004 vintage (93 pts, Wine Spectator), not the 2005 I was looking for!  "Hey guys, what are you trying to pull here?"

Well to make a long story short, Berman's had sent an e-mail to their entire customer list advertising the 2005 (which they also described as a shoe-in for the WS Top 100), but all they had actually received was the 2004!  Since I showed up barely 1 hour after the e-mail was sent, I was the first, of presumably many, irate customers making the drive all the way into Lexington just to save $5 (which, with my 16 mpg pony car, would barely pay my petrol bill for the trip!).

Anyway, Berman's eventually did get a small amount of the 2005 in, so if you'd like to grab a few, you had better head down there soon (Well, OK, with almost 6000 cases produced, you'll probably find it at Costco for less, but let's try to not spoil my story...)

My four bottles (plus oak box) are now in the cellar, destined to be consumed over the next decade...oh, and I did pick up four Don Melchor 2005 as well (the alternate solution to vino-indecision:  buy everything!).

Note added in proof, 8/31/08:  I did end up getting a couple more bottles of Clos Apalta '05 at the Waltham Costco for a bargain $54.99 (still available, along with a few bottles of the '04 mentioned above)!  Why do I buy wine anywhere else?  OK, stupid question (answer: because it's there).

Note added in proof: The Clos Apalta was #1 on Wine Spectator's "Top 100 Wines of 2008", while the Don Melchor was #12.  Good call Kevin!

A wine treasure hunt - Episode I

In these days of closed-before-they-are-open winery mailing lists, rocketing auction prices, and flipping the latest Robert Parker 99-pointer, wine collecting may seem more like a business than a sybaritic hobby.  But, sometimes, tracking down that special 

bottle of plonk reminds me more of a treasure hunt, or maybe even an Easter egg hunt!

One of my favorite local wine haunts is the Costco store located in Waltham Massachusetts.  I'll let you in on a little secret that surprisingly few wine snobs (maybe not surprising at that) and neophyte wine lovers alike don't know:  Costco is not just a great place to buy a six-month supply of toilet paper; it is also a terrific place to find a wide variety of interesting, even hard to obtain, wines at bargain prices that can't be matched by your traditional bricks-and-mortar wine shop.  So I usually try to stop by at least once a week to check out what new arrivals their wine buyer has selected (often differing between Costco locations).  Sometimes I will pick up of a nice bottle for the weekend, and sometime an unplanned 1/2 case of age-worth juice to stash away for enjoyment a few years down the road.

Since the spectacular '05 Bordeaux continue to arrive on this shore (apparently slightly delayed by a transportation strike in France!), I've had my eye out for a few select bottles to supplement my earlier en primeur purchases (1/2 cases of Chateau Haut-Bailly and Chateau Guiraud).  One wine that I wasn't able to pick up as a future (shipping wine into Massachusetts from most out-of-state retailers has certain legal implications, but please don't get me started about the antiquated Prohibition-era laws of our supposedly progressive state!) is the '05 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, a largely Sauvignon Blanc-based Bordeaux blend from Pessac-Leognan on the Left Bank.

So I was thrilled to see 4 bottles of SHL's distinctive pale-yellow label peaking out from the top shelf of the French/Cali Cult corner of Costco.

"According to Fabien Teitger, in-house enologist at Smith, the 38-year-0ld vines at the estate, which sink their roots several meters into the gravelly soil, were well able to cope with the drought during the summer of 2005.  Dannie and Florence Cathiard, owners of Smith since 1990, believe that they are now making the best red and white wines ever from the 165.5-acre estate (138.3 acres red; 27.2 acres white).  These wines are proof."

~~ James Suckling, "Bordeaux to Buy", 31 March 2008, Wine Spectator

And:

"Honey, apple tart, light toffee, cream and piecrust.  Very complex and full-bodied, with lively acidity and beautiful clove honey, red apple and lemon flavors. Long, balanced and very lively.  A massive white. Layered and beautiful. Made to age, but  who can wait to drink this?  Best after 2010.  3,000 cases made.  96 points."  [3ed highest score for a dry white Bordeaux after 97-point Domaine de Chevalier and 100-point Chateau Haut Brion.]

~~ James Suckling, 31 March 2008, Buying Guide, Wine Spectator

My prediction?  A possible Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of the Year for 2008!  I'm going to sock my 4 bottles away for 2011-2017.  Sorry guys, those were the last 4!

[Release, $83; Costco, $83.49; Zachy's, $100; Corporate Wines, the only other place I'm aware of that has it in MA, $101.83.]

Welcome to the "Poetry in a Bottle" blog

"Those lodes and pockets of earth, more precious than the precious ores, that yield inimitable fragrance and soft fire, those vituous Bonanzas where soil has sublimated under sun and stars to something finer, and the wine is bottled poetry."

~~ Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883, "The Silverado Squatters"