Coming Soon: New 2005 Bordeaux!

Sometime in the not-too-distant future, God and the Panama Canal willing, Spiritmerchants will be getting in it's mammoth order of the 2005 Bordeaux's. (It's not quite as mammoth for the store as it originally was, with a few of the rarer specimens already spoken for by some of the Island's nicer restaurants, but this leaves more splendid deals for the rest of us.) Some Highlights? How about Chateau Cos D'Estournel's 2005 Goulée for a start? Robert Parker gave it a score of 91, sipping it from the barrel in 2006; and while we at Spinnakers by no means worship at Parker's pant-cuffs, well, even a blind pig finds a truffle now and then. In the same price-range, we'll be stocking a half-a-dozen cases of Chateau D'Aiguilhe (90-93 points from Parker in 2007), and altogether, we'll be bringing in almost a hundred cases of fifteen different chateaux, ranging in price from under $20 to whatever we finally come up with for the Cos D'Estournel that we spent a painful number of Euros for.

We'll have a complete list up on the blog and the store site when I get around to it, but in the meantime, here's the story renowned negociant and all-around Bordeaux sage Bill Blatch had to tell about the 2005 vintage in Bordeaux, pilfered from Jancis Robinson's website.

Great Bottles---Great Vintages

Larry Sez:
This utility is under construction---come back soon!

Coming to Spinnakers: 10 wines from Israel

Any day now, Spinnakers Spirit Merchants will have 10 new Israeli wines on its shelves. For some background, here's what Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate had to say about their latest (large) survey of Israeli wines:

Quietly, and without attracting much consumer attention, Israel has developed a wine industry that will confound preconceptions. A country whose wine industry once was largely considered insipid and mostly aimed at satisfying religious needs, today has dozens of wineries and a serious enough industry to have a few trophies. That, to be sure, does not mean Israeli wine production is new. Ignoring Biblical times, Israel has been producing wine since long before it was actually a State. Carmel, Israel's largest winery, was founded by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the owner of Château Lafite-Rothschild. It traces its roots back to 1882 and it dominated Israel's wine scene for a century.

It is only recently, however, that more than an occasional Israeli wine has attracted serious interest. Even prestigious Golan Heights, an old stalwart familiar for its Yarden label in the USA, did not begin operating until 1983. Its founding was one of the important landmarks in modern Israeli wine history.

In the generation since Golan Heights’ debut, the industry has undergone massive change. While giant Carmel still has a dominating market share, and Carmel, Golan Heights and Barkan together control about 75% of the marketplace, much of the attention has shifted to Israel’s boutique wineries, a relatively new phenomenon. Tiny Margalit, for instance, calls itself Israel’s first boutique winery. Its debut vintage, the 1989 Cabernet Sauvignon, was just released in 1991. This shouldn’t be taken to mean that the larger wineries are bad, incidentally. Golan Heights is on every short list for “Best of Israel,” and Carmel is producing small production, high quality wines, too, both under its own label and Yatir.

The first issue in dealing with Israeli wines is invariably whether they are Kosher. The larger wineries generally produce Kosher wines, but most of the boutique wineries do not. Importer Haim Hassin of SolStars asserted, “There are close to 200 wineries in Israel and about 150 of them are non-kosher boutique wineries.” The total output for the boutique wineries is, however, fairly small. It is fair to say that if you are going to be drinking Israeli wines regularly, you will regularly encounter Kosher wines. The second and therefore more important issue is what significance a Kosher certification has for the non-Kosher consumer to whom such wines must be marketed if they are to be considered mainstream products. The simple answer: no one should avoid wines simply because they have Kosher certifications. Based on my tastings, in fact, Kosher wines are among the best in this report, such as those from Domaine du Castel and Yatir. It seems generally irrelevant....

The most important thing to understand is that those sickly sweet Passover wines Americans are used to have nothing to do with the types of wine Israel is bragging about these days. Now the mainstream wines are more likely to be bottlings of Bordeaux varietals, Chardonnay or Syrah that have typicity and will seem familiar to sophisticated consumers. They can be big and bold, as at Yatir, or graceful and old world, as at Domaine du Castel. You can put a bag over a Bustan Syrah and watch your friends argue about whether it is a Languedoc or Rhône. Israeli wine isn't an oddity any more, and it is certainly not just for those who keep Kosher.

A detailed list of the new Israeli wines coming to Spinnakers can be found here. An overview of them, from their importer, International Cellars, can be found here. Notes from a preliminary Spinnakers tasting are available here. Perhaps not surprisingly, there have been some dissenting political voices; for an example of the rhetoric, go here. More news when the products actually hit the shelves.

For the Hard-to-Please on Your Christmas List....

...May we suggest overkill? From Concha y Toro, we have what amounts to an instant vertical of their fabulous Don Melchor Cabernet---six bottles; six vintages. The range of flavors promises to be breathtaking, with the '87, '88 and '89 fully mature and the '97, '98, and '99 just coming into their own. While I've never been one to worship the numbers that Robert Parker tosses over his shoulder, here's what The Wine Advocate had to say about the '97:

94 Points. The 1997 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon is exhibiting some development in color and bouquet. On the palate it remains impressively youthful with layers of flavor and excellent balance in its full-bodied personality. It continues to evolve and may reach its peak by 2015. It should drink well through 2040.

Be sure to give me a call in 2040 to let me know if it lasted!

New Wines From Chateau Gres Saint Paul!

Just arrived---and here in BC, exclusive to Spinnakers---five new products from Languedoc winemaker Jean Philippe Servière! Robert Parker's been onto this producer for years, and his last encounter with Servière's Chateau Gres Saint Paul Antonin moved him to write: "Believe it or not, this smells like a $50 bottle of Cote Rotie! Made from 70-year old Syrah vines, it boasts an amazing perfume of bacon fat, tapenade, and blackberries. Dense and medium-bodied, with loads of fruit, this is a beautiful offering that sells for a song." (At least as far as price is concerned, Parker understates: An entire flight of Gres Saint Paul wines can be had for a short medley.)

As well as the Gres Saint Paul Antonin, Spinnakers has brought in Servière's dry Muscat "Libertine 2006"---and for a look at what the winemaker himself has to say about his wines, check out "Les Vins" at the Gres Saint Paul website. You may need your Larousse, but his pride in the product is obvious.

We've got three more---even more reasonably-priced---offerings from this producer: Servière's Grange Philippe Syrah; Piccolino (100 % Mourvèdre) and Gypsy---a rosé that's a 60/40 mix of Syrah and Grenache. Sourced off-property, they are nevertheless made with the same care---and if Antonin can be had for a song, these three will cost you a mere bagatelle.

Larry Sez: This page is under construction

....But stay tuned! Over the next few days and weeks, I'll be getting this blog up to steam with news about hot new products available exclusively to anybody in the BC blogosphere who has the wherewithal to come to this web page!