Thanksgiving day at Chez Bobo

This was the first Thanksgiving day hosted at Chez Bobo and it proved to be more work than expected. Granted, my wife awoke at 5am to begin the cooking, but I am in charge of the dish cleaning and this proved to be a momumental task. I underestimated the number of dishes that would be involved in preparing the feast and spent a good portion of the afternoon cleaning up. The great food and wine made it all worth it, however. A nice sparkling Vouvray Brut from Domaine Aubuisieres got the festivities off to a good start. Next up, a rich and creamy Jean Velut, Champagne, Blanc de Blanc, NV that was very good.

I love the rieslings from the Wachau region of Austria, but I also enjoy the gruner veltliners made in the Federspiel style (12.5% maximum alcohol). Their are four producers in the Wachau that are often sited as the best and we tasted Federspiels from three of these estates. Due to the difficulty in obtaining their wines, Knoll was not included. The Hirtzberger, Gruner Veltliner, Federpiel, Rotes Tor, 2006 was nice, but seemed hard and bitter next to the competition. Richer and rounder on the palate was the Prager, Gruner Veltliner, Federspiel, Hinter der Burg, 2006. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this wine, because in the past I found those from Prager to be little too clean and soulless. On this day, the Prager tasted delicous and showed great balance. The company I work for distributes the wine, so I may seem biaised, but I found the F.X. Pichler, Gruner Veltliner, Federspiel, Klostersatz, 2006 to be the best of the flight. Typical of the wines from this estate, the Pichler had a seemless texture that gave it a greater sense of elegance. Hirtzberger and Prager are terrific producers, but the wines from F.X. Pichler show the touch of a truly gifted winemaker.

Ironically, after my earlier post declaring that gamay based wines work best on Thanksgiving, I did not open a single Beaujolais. I had every intention of cracking open a couple cru bottlings, but my brother in-law showed up with two grand cru wines from the Cote d'Or. What would you expect the Burgschnauzer to do? The Jacky Truchot, Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru, 2003 was an obvious "leaker," but the wine still showed pretty well. Although it appeared rather advanced for its age, the wine was complex and elegant. The Domaine des Lambrays, Clos des Lambrays, Grand Cru, 2003 was a perfect bottle and showed well, but I was a little disappointed with the roasted flavor it displayed. The more Burgundies I drink from 2003, the less I like the vintage.

Despite this being the first Thanksgiving at Chez Bobo, the turkey turned out great and the entire meal was a success. The next night, we attempted to plough through some of the leftovers and this time we drank a Beaujolais. Confirming my earlier claims, a bottle of Domaine Vissoux, Fleurie, Poncie, 2007 was a perfect match for the meal. The wine washed down the various foods without any conflict. Next year, I will be sure to crack open some cru Beaujolais. Although, I might be persauded otherwise if someone shows with up with a couple grand cru Burgundies.

The Great Food and Wine Pairing Disaster

Thanksgiving should be declared a national food and wine pairing disaster. I thought about calling FEMA, but that would probably make the situation worse. Many people choose to serve big, tannic wines (i.e. CA cabernets & Bordeaux) which can be transformed into bitter, sour swill by foods such as cranberry sauce. It may not be a perfect match, but gamay based wines are able to wash down such culinary landmines without major difficulty. With that in mind, I would like to officially endorse cru Beaujolais as the perfect wine for this long day of eating. The forward, fruity nature of the gamay grape pairs wonderfully with lean meats such as turkey and also works well with traditional side dishes. The best Beaujolais are serious wines that keep the drinker engaged and eager to consume more. Some people feel that Americans should drink wines that are native to the U.S. on this national holiday. Zinfandel is often cited by the press as the best wine to be served on Thanksgiving. While that maybe patriotic, I like to be awake when the pumpkin pie is served. Then again, if the in-laws are really difficult to deal with, a nice, big 17% Zin might be the perfect choice.

Champagne Sunday - 11/23

" Milk chaser please."

Heymann-Lowenstein

Reinhard Lowenstein, located in the lower Mosel town Winningen, is an extremely passionate winemaker who has attracted a cult following in Germany. In the US, however, his wines are virtually unknown. Some members of the American press have recently begun reviewing Lowenstein's wines, labeled Heymann-Lowenstein, but they remain off the radar of most German wine aficionados here. Mr. Lowenstein is obsessed with the notion of terroir and he bottles his cuvees according to the type of soil they originate from. As a winemaker, Lowenstein emphasizes minimal intervention. The 2005 Heymann-Lowenstein, Riesling, Schieferterrassen showed a deep yellow color and a nose infused with petrol. While not uncommon in older bottles, it is unusual to find petrol aromas in a young riesling. It appears that Lowenstein exposes his wines to a good amount of oxygen during the elevage which might explain the advanced nature of the wine's color and aroma. In the mouth, the wine was medium bodied, dry and lively. Schieferterrasen is the estate's basic bottling and is a blend of several vineyards consisting of various soil types.

The one aspect that separates the dry wines made by Lowenstein from those of other growers in Germany is their beautiful texture. Most of the trocken style wines that I have tasted seem coarse, hard and overly intense. In contrast, Lowenstein's wines caress the palate and appear to be almost weightless. While drinking the Schieferterrasen, it occurred to me that this style of wine might be a flash back to what good German Riesling tasted like prior to the invention of the Pradikat classification system (i.e. Kabinett, Spatlese, etc.). Before the growers began haulting the fermentation and intentionally leaving sugar in the wines, I suspect that most were dry/off dry. The best wines of Germany were highly sought after in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, but from what I have read, they were considered dry table wines. The Mosel region is cold, and it is probable that in some of the past vintages not all the sugar would have converted to alcohol. These cooler vintages would have resulted in wines with some perceivable sweetness, but they were most likely drier and fuller bodied those made today. The estate of Reinhard Lowenstein may seem like a new exciting discovery, but his wines might have felt right at home a century ago.

http://www.heymann-loewenstein.com/

Election Night

There was a great deal of enthusiasm surrounding this year's presidential election (at least amongst my associates) so I decided to open a bottle of wine that had me excited. Chevillon-Chezeaux is a small producer based in Nuits-Saint-Georges and they are known in France for their rare cuvee made from mutated pinot noir grapes. The Henri Gouges domaine was the first to have reported that some of their pinot noir vines had transformed and begun producing white grapes. The Gouges estate shared the cuttings from these vines with other domaines and they are now referred to as "Pinot Gouges" (a.k.a. "Pinot Blanc issue de Noir"). The Chevillon-Chezeaux, Nuits-Saints-Georges, 1er Cru, Bousselots, blanc, 2006 was ripe on the nose and thick on the palate. Unlike Burgundies made from the chardonnay grape, this bottle showed red fruits on the palate. Despite the unique flavor profile, this wine came across as being very much a Burgundy. The wine was chalky, coarse and full of minerals. Most Meursaults, Pulignys and Chassagnes in the same price range are finer wines, but this cuvee is very unique. I have had better bottles recently from other villages in Burgundy, but none were as exciting.

Saturday Night Football - 11/1

The Texas Tech vs. Texas game was the main attraction this evening and I decided to get it started with a bottle of F.X. Pichler, Riesling, Federspiel, Von den Terrassen, 2006. The wine's rich texture reflected the warm vintage, yet it remained lively and fresh. This bottle is a classic example of the Pichler style, which combines finesse with power and intensity. Great winemaking on display here.