Manchego

We've covered Manchego cheese here several times, yet somehow we still found a few new factoids for your files.

We knew Manchego was popular but did you know 60% of all Spanish DOC cheeses are Manchego?

Manchego was historically formed in grass baskets.  The zigzag pattern on the rind of all Manchegos is a reproduction of the weave embossing from the grass baskets.  

If the Manchego rind has a wax exterior, do not eat the rind.  (Duh)  Otherwise the rind is perfectly fine to eat.

Olive oil is brushed onto the rind of all Manchegos.

The only permitted additive in Manchego is rennet.

All Manchegos have a standardized size and shape.

Manchego cheese is not recommended for melting.

And finally, there are four types of Manchego depending on the age of the cheese but you will only see two.  The fresh Manchego (aged 2 weeks) doesn't travel well so it stays in Spain and the Viejo (aged 1-2 years) has not caught on with the international market.  So our choices are the Semi-curado (aged up to 4 months) and the Curado (aged up to six months.)

Most cheeses pair with red wine.  It is our considered opinion that Manchego will go with reds, whites, roses and bubbly.  So stop in and pick up some Manchego!

Carbonic Maceration

The inherent charm of French Beaujolais doesn't come about by traditional fermentation which converts sugars to alcohol using yeasts.  Carbonic maceration is how the winemakers in Beaujolais (and elsewhere) do it.  This fermentation process uses an anaerobic tank of carbon dioxide to initiate fermentation using the enzymes of whole, not crushed, grapes as a catalyst.  The release of the enzymes in such an environment breaks down the grape sugars into alcohol without introducing yeasts from somewhere else.  CO2, being heavier than oxygen, permeates fruit skins forcing oxygen out while breaking down sugars and malic acid to produce alcohol.  This is intracellular fermentation.

Does wine made using this process taste different from wine traditionally fermented?  While Beaujolais and other whole grape fermented wines still show the polyphenols (antioxidants), color, flavors and tannins in traditionally fermented wines, they are lighter, fresher and fruitier and lower in tannins than traditionally made wines.  It's a wine style very much in keeping with modern tastes.

Our preceding post was about the ten best vineyards in Beaujolais.  Each region has their own winemaking methods.  The more southern regions have the benefit of a longer growing season and the region's Mediterranean climate.  Carbonic maceration makes sense there.  The northern parts want a more Burgundian product so they typically finish their fermentation the traditional way to get a bigger wine.

Carbonic maceration is as old as grapes, themselves, by the way.  Whenever fruit is held in a container, even a slatted wooden crate, the weight of the fruit at the top crushes to some extent those at the bottom releasing carbon dioxide facilitated by ambient yeasts.  The heavier CO2 forces the O2 away creating a carbon dioxide-heavy environment.  The whole fruits higher up in the container will then naturally start to ferment.  

Cru Vineyard Beaujolais

If you like French Burgundy, and I'm talking Pinot Noir, but can't afford the good stuff, look south to where the Gamay grape is king.  It's still Burgundy (geographically speaking) but without the pretense and pricing of the great wines to the north.  

Further to the south is Beaujolais proper where oceans of light fruity quaffing wine originates.  What we're talking about is the area in between where the qualitatively better Gamay comes from, the stuff that approximates the pinots to the north at that more comfortable price point.

There are ten crus in the region, ten vineyards that have historically produced wine of superior quality.  About halfway down this north-to-south list the terroir changes.  The first five crus resemble Pinot Noir country climate-wise while the last five to the south, with one outlier, resemble the Mediterranean Cotes du Rhone climate to the south.  This is a generalization but the bigger reds come from the north and the softer reds come from the south.

All Beaujolais show berry flavors in abundance and our northernmost cru, Julienas, is all about strawberries and lingonberries.  St. Amour is difficult to peg down flavor-wise.  It's sort of all over the map.  Chenas is big age-worthy red wine.  Moulin a Vent is decidedly full-bodied and tannic.  It's big red wine that turns more pinot-ish with age.  Fleuries are floral, as the name implies, but still capable of aging well.

The five crus to the south start with Chiroubles, a soft, lighter-styled, delicate red.  Morgon is the outlier mentioned above.  It is a full-bodied, rich and powerful, meaty, age-worthy cherry bomb that also turns pinot-ish with age.  The last three; Regnie, Cotes de Brouilly and Brouilly; are all soft and rich fruit bombs.  They are more like the Beaujolais to the south but still qualitatively better. 

So, to summarize: The big reds are Morgon, Moulin a Vent and Chenas.  All three are capable of aging up to ten years.  In a good vintage any cru should hold/improve for three to five years.  And the lighter ones you can enjoy anytime. 

So why this post now?  Because these wines are selling better than ever.  Maybe they've been discovered.  You should try one. 

Coffee, Wine and Tea

Coffee, wine and tea have historically consumed the beverage category in my life.  I used to tell people I drink a pot of coffee every morning, a pot of tea in the afternoon and a pot of wine in the evening...and that's not far from the truth!  But things change when you get older and tastes have to be tempered.

What I find fascinating in life is how our tastes change over time and relatedly, how we think about what we consume.  I have never been a coffee connoisseur, but at the same time, I'll pass on a bad cup any time.  My cup of coffee has to be just good enough, as I define that term, to pass muster with me. 

I always thought tea was tea, whether hot or cold.  Why waste time considering the merits of a product that is so basic; that is, until I recently picked up a couple jugs of the pre-made stuff from the grocery store.  I had forgotten my home brewed tea from bulk leaves that day and figured the jugs would suffice.  That's when I learned there is a difference.  I know now that my appreciation for tea has evolved.

So what's my point with this vacuous post? It's simply that it's all so personal what we like in our beverages.  Me?  I like good enough coffee and tea that others may not.  And I'm admittedly not a connoisseur of either.  Wine is different.  I am a connoisseur of fine wine but I'm also realistic.  I can't afford the great wines so I look for value.  And if that's got you curious, you should stop in the store.

And forget what others say.  Especially the experts.  Like what you like.  And remember, whether you think you know your stuff about coffee, tea and wine; it's always subject to change.

Mylonas Assyrtiko

Mylonas' vineyards and winery are located in the Attica region on the east-central side of Greece.  This region is also home to Athens.  The specific region of Attica where the winery sources its grapes features ash-rich volcanic soils containing seven hundred different minerals.  Eighty percent of the wines produced there are white so when you consider the minerality of the vineyards and salinity in the air from the coast, you get a good idea of the flavor profile of the wine.

Mylonas' seventeen hectare vineyards at 200-350m elevation are the highest in Attica.  They are dry farmed for low yields before hand-picking the grapes.  Their modern winery controls temperatures both in its pre-fermentation maceration and in its stainless steel fermentation.  The wine is then aged on the lees with regular stirring for three months.

The result is a full bodied, aromatically complex (citrus, green apple, stone & white flowers) wine with ample acidity and a long satisfying finish.  This wine has concentrated expressive fruit intended to complement Mediterranean cuisine or with grilled fish or shellfish with lemon.

Although blended with Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, this wine is really about the Assyrtiko, one of the oldest varieties on the planet.  It's possible the grape got its start on the island of Santorini 3,500 years ago.  Written documentation of winemaking there from 1600bc means this wine may have been enjoyed by the likes of Plato, Aristotle or Socrates.

Santorini is known for its sandy soils which saved their vineyards from the phylloxera plague of the late 1800's.  Nearly all of the vineyards of Europe were destroyed by the American plant louse that hailed from our own southeastern American states.   Those European vineyards had to be re-planted using American disease-resistant rootstocks, but since the bug didn't like sandy soils, Assyrtiko still has its original roots.

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Established in 1973, Joseph Phelps Vineyards is one of California's premier Napa estate wineries.  With winemaker Walter Schug at the helm, Phelps released California's first signature red (Bordeaux) blend, Insignia, in 1974.  Twelve years later in 1986 the Meritage (Bordeaux blend) category would be created by the industry and then in 2005 that same Insignia red blend would be named the Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year".

Insignia currently sells for upwards of three hundred dollars a bottle.  Their regular Napa Cabernet is a hundred dollar bottle.  So when our vendor offered us Phelps' Innisfree Napa Cabernet at a very affordable price we went ahead and picked up a case.  We checked the reviews and they were good, so...what the heck.

Then we read up on Phelps and we learned Joseph Phelps Vineyards was sold in June of 2022.  Uh oh.  Our Innisfree is a 2019 vintage, which is, at the very least, concerning.  Whenever a winery is for sale you have to wonder what the level of care is going into the product.  After all, if you're checking out of the business and you have product in the works, how much care are you going to put into it.  If it isn't up to standards, it's going to be someone else's problem.  We've seen this movie before.

Now we have learned the new ownership of Joseph Phelps is Moet Hennessy, a division of LVMH, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.  So at the very least it's an industry player and not a Wall Street insurance company wanting to bleed a prominent label.  Then we read what was included in the purchase: the winery itself, the brand name, inventory and 500 acres of vineyards in Napa and Sonoma.  So they really did buy the estate and not just the brand name.

Joseph Phelps Vineyards is now a part of the LVMH portfolio which includes Moet & Chandon (Dom Perignon), Krug, Veuve Cliquot and Dom Ruinart Champagnes, Chateau d'Yquem and Cheval Blanc Bordeaux, Bodega Numanthia in Rioja, Clos des Lamprays in Burgundy, Napa's Domaine Chandon and New Zealand's Cloudy Bay.  Nice company to hang with.

The vineyards included in the purchase are in St. Helena, Oakville, Rutherford, the Stag's Leap District and South Napa.  Once again, nice neighborhood to play in.  From where we sit we think the Phelps future looks pretty good. 

The Paring

We think the easiest way to sell The Paring wines is by selling their provenance.  The wines are from Screaming Eagle, the most expensive wine from California.  From there you can go on to share what prices those wines command in stores and restaurants ($1,000+), consumer demand, points, scarcity and so on, ad nauseum.  This pitch works for me anyway.

Truth is, The Paring Red Blend is probably as good of an example of a Bordeaux Blend at its price point as there is coming out of California.  The Paring Chardonnay likewise is an equally fine example of type.  So the Screaming Eagle hype is just that...hype.  But it's easy to play off of.

Screaming Eagle also markets wines from Jonata Vineyards and The Hilt so The Paring is way down the list from their flagship label.  But that doesn't diminish what's in the bottle.  Screaming Eagle is, of course, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (hence the price).  The other labels are from Santa Barbara County so it's apples and oranges anyway.

Jonata is in the Ballard Canyon AVA within the Santa Ynez Valley AVA and The Paring Red is largely sourced from Jonata's younger vines.  Other vineyards used to support this juice are in Santa Maria Valley and Sta Rita Hills where the Chardonnay is also sourced.

So what makes The Paring Red so good?  In a word, balance.  And structure.  It's not just about jammy forward fruit like so many California wines.  The wine is refined and elegant and features herbal and savory dimensions along with intrinsic dusty tannins and acidity.  

The wine is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc, 14% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot so its inspiration and focus is on Cabernet fruit.  Cassis, tobacco and chocolate are all readily there in this distinctly new world creation.