Wine + Music Notes by bottleDJ

Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Cut 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, United States

By bottledj on April 22, 2012
This entry is filed under Jazz, Red (Still), Sonoma.

Let me start with a slight digression; I wonder how often folks walk up to Martin Scorsese and tell them they love his wine? With that absurdity, I promise I will write the rest of the of this blog without the predictable movie metaphors.

Alright, back to business. The 2010 Francis Ford Coppola Driector’s Cut Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma is a great sample of what you want from a Sonoma Cab.

Roasting Cherry scents waft from the glass. The roasting effect isn’t smokey per se, and with the cherry it is very inviting.

The gulp is smooth and polished, like a maraschino cherry without the sweet syrup, and a moderate barrel toasting that keeps it classy.

I would trust the Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Cut when I want a top quality Sonoma Cab, but that predictability may be the only aspect that I am not crazy about. No quirky and funky in this bottle. Certainly a sommelier’s best friend, a reliable, top quality bottle with a very recognizable name on the label is the upside of being a predictable. This is the wine that every bank loan officer in Sonoma wishes his clients would make!

Musical Match: This wine reminds me of a lot of drum solos. Big and powerful, and usually crowd pleasers. I love percussion as much as the next guy, but the drum solos often lack the expression of what an ensemble or even other solo instruments can offer. The Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Cut 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon has all the great attributes you can look, for but doesn’t say express much.

Loron & Fils Château de Bellevue 2009 Morgon, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France

By bottledj on April 13, 2012
This entry is filed under A Hit!, Burgundy, Pop, Red (Still).

More Morgon! At a decent age of three years old, this wine is not a “Nouveau-Beaujolais” but I will say that I hope you will try this wine and agree that it might represent the New Beaujolais.

Nose: The 2009 Château de Bellevue Morgon from iconic négociants Loron & Fils is unadultered Cherry/wood. Simple yes, but simple like the pleasure of breakfast in bed. Yves Thetard from Loron explained to me that their preferred barrel maker uses a very special process for making his barrels, he boils the the wood in water before he toasts them. I am not a chemist, so skipping the science altogether, the end result are scents that resemble a freshly baked French Brioche more than a torched wine barrel. Ooh la la.

Into the Gulp and beyond the appetizing Brioche breakfast-in-bed treat, the buffet of flavours opens up. Spice, cherries and berries embody a strong feminine physique.

Musical Match: Rock and Roll Hall of famer Darlene Love might not have known she was laying some of the first bricks in the wall of feminism with her “Today I met the Boy I’m Going To Marry.” But she did. She forwarded the idea that women had a right to self determination, and that although she was spelling out R-E-S-P-E-C-T, she certainly paved the way. This simple little song has a rich, round sound, filled with feminine strength that can’t be denied. She proved her staying power with her 2011 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This 2009 Loron & Fils Château de Bellevue Morgon might do the same for folks that think Beaujolais doesn’t last either. Cheers.

Domaine Arnaud Aucoeur Cuvée Jean Claude Aucoeur Morgon 2009 & 2010, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France

By bottledj on April 11, 2012
This entry is filed under Burgundy, Pop, Red (Still).

If you are familiar with this blog, you know I like Beaujolais. I probably even have an extra special place in my heart for the sub-region of Morgon in Beaujolais. My little crush has been aided and abetted by the fact that I got into the 2009 crop, which was particularly generous to Beaujolais.

So here we go with a smallish producer, Domaine Arnaud Aucoeur and two different vintages of their Cuvée Jean Claude Aucoeur 2009 and 2010 from Morgon. Starting with the youthful 2010, the wine has a neutral scent followed by a cherry and blueberry into the gulp. This wine is all about the freshness as it pops around your mouth and cleans up by itself on the way down your throat. Young and quaffable, this wine is very typical of what you want from a year old Morgon.

Her big sister, the 2009 Cuvée Jean Claude Aucoeur isn’t much different, but it is simply better on a couple of levels. The fruit has matured, and the riper, rounder flavours seem to have been churned into a buttery concoction. Nice. The fruit has a stronger blueberry component, which gives this wine a bit more of a signature. The wine makers let the great vintage distinguish itself and have produced a very nice sample of what a Morgon can be, whereas the very decent 2010 shows what a good Morgon typically is. The 2009 costs about 4$ more than the her little sister sells for, but that character bit of age is worth the small jump in price. Maybe a year in your celllar may be enough time to let the 2010 come of age, it would be interesting to go back in one year.

Musical Maches: The crazy legged dancing, the frenetic and catchy rhythms that get people excited about young talent Janelle Monae are exactly what you will get from the 2010 Cuvée Jean Claude Aucoeur form Domaine Arnaud Aucoeur. I can’t wait to see where her career takes her! Enjoy “tightrope.”

For the 2009 Cuvée Jean Claude Aucoeur, I am going with Neneh Cherry’s time tested Buffalo Stance. She never had quite a vintage hit like this one, but this song is a “Signature”piece if there ever has been one.

I hope I convey what these wines have in common with the these two pieces of music that might share some creative threads, separated by time of course.

Tightrope:

Buffalo Stance

Birichino Malvasia Bianca 2010 Monterey, USA

By bottledj on April 7, 2012
This entry is filed under Central Coast, Jazz, Platinum Records, White (Still).

Bewildering. One scent and sip of the Birichino Malvasia Bianca and you are transported into an impressionist painted oenological wonderland. The wine is that different, that real, and honestly great that it deserves mention. I tasted this at a wine show put on by the California Wine Institute. Suffice to say my mouth was quite tuned to Chardonnay galore in the key of California, and this Malvasia Bianca was a fork in the road.

I believe I overheard John Locke, the winemaker, mention something about jasmine on the scent. ( I could be wrong, he was talking to another taster and the table was very busy) I picked that scent up, but it was a rubbery/latex jasmine to me. Sometimes folks talk about odour ranges like jasmine and rubber and also associate it with pistachio, but my nose picked up muted cardamon. Bewildered and un-trusting of my instinct, I pulled the cardamon out of the spice rack when I got home and I am quite confident that I got it just right.

Into the gulp the wine was thickly textured, deep in flavour and washed away tidily by measured acid. The deep flavours were nutty and citrus, like a dessert from a foreign land delivered by a tall mute on a magic carpet playing sitar.

Musical Match: Josephine Baker is an icon you may not know about. She was a bridge between European and African American cultures. Before she passed away 1975 she lived enough adventure for at least two adventurous lives. From a period not to long ago, her life shaped many of the ways our society has become tolerant of sexual expression and acceptance of black culture – she was a cultural Steve Jobs if you will. Her music and dance were exotic, and her performance made that exoticism accessible. The 2010 Birichino is an exotic and approachable wine, and hopefully will set an example or busting pre-conceived ideas. Great Stuff. Platinum record status, Get some.

What is Your Fantasy Canadian Wine?

By bottledj on April 4, 2012
This entry is filed under Uncategorized.

Brave winemakers have been plying there vocation in vineyards large and (mostly) small in a number of Canadian provinces for quite a while. Only in the last two or three decades has the commercial aspect of the industry started to gain steam. Right now a private members bill being considered in Ottawa would allow much greater shipping from winemakers in Canada to consumers in other provinces. It got me to thinking, what new opportunities and products will the industry respond with? Please call your local MP and demand they support Bill C311.

In a rebuttal to a comment on my last post, I mused that BC wine makers could band together to market a regional blend called Ruffled Feathers, and use their collective efforts to conquer the world. If they play their cards right, it could happen – and in that perfect scenario I could #wineandmusic match it with Trooper’s Raise A Little Hell. A number of obstacles would need to be overcome, but as seminal Quebecois philosopher Elvis Gratton often preached, “Think Big, ‘sti!” Bringing down interprovincial firewalls would be a great start.

My wine Canadian fairy tale (beaver tale) would actually be the following. A blend of Cabernet Franc and Gamay from Ontario’s Prince Edward County. Lots of people (heart) the potential for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the seaway peninsula, but I fear those two wines are up against stiff competition that enjoy a myriad of financial advantages and economies of scale over tiny PEC. I privately (not any more!) fear that the real potential for 40$ PEC Chards and Pinots is to muster up the wherewithal to compete with 32$ Chards and Pinots coming from equally good geographies, with more mature wine industries exploiting established and saturated marketing channels.

The Grange winery in PEC is already bringing great Gamays and Cabernet Francs to market at 15$ and 18$ a bottle. I personally can’t get enough of blends from Touraine in the French Loire that feature those blends.

So let’s be positive here, what’s your Fantasy Canadian Wine? Remember “Think Big, ‘sti!”