Jean wanted a special dinner tonight to celebrate her return to a
"normal" diet, so I cooked venison steaks with roasted potatoes, sweet
potatoes and onions with sauteed bok choy and opened:

1990 Chapoutier Hermitage "La Sizeranne"
nose: pencil lead, a hint of licorice, black pepper, blueberry
palate: smooth tannins, slightly polished, decent acidity

This bottle is a remnant from my Parkeriste days and, while it was a
perfectly decent bottle of Syrah, it had nothing about it that
communicated Hermitage or even the Rhone Valley to me. Viewed outside
of that lens, it was a fine example of California Syrah ;-)

Mark Lipton

>
> This bottle is a remnant from my Parkeriste days and, while it was a
> perfectly decent bottle of Syrah, it had nothing about it that
> communicated Hermitage or even the Rhone Valley to me. Viewed outside
> of that lens, it was a fine example of California Syrah ;-)

LOL. If you follow "Parker" reviews on Spanish wines, you end up drinking
wines that look like Australian fruit bombs.

santiago wrote:
>> This bottle is a remnant from my Parkeriste days and, while it was a
>> perfectly decent bottle of Syrah, it had nothing about it that
>> communicated Hermitage or even the Rhone Valley to me. Viewed outside
>> of that lens, it was a fine example of California Syrah ;-)
>
> LOL. If you follow "Parker" reviews on Spanish wines, you end up drinking
> wines that look like Australian fruit bombs.

Coincidentally, I'm drinking more Spanish wine now than ever before
(well, excepting grad school when Torres's Sangre de Toro at $3.00 a
bottle was a staple of my existence). However, my Spanish wines these
days comes primarily from Galicia and El País Vasco, areas that "Big
Jay" Miller rarely talks about. I do have a few old school Rioja and
even a bottle of Manchuela from Victor de la Serna's Finca Sandoval.
Oh, and I've certainly been enjoying various La Bota Sherries from
Equipo Navazos, but they never make it to our cellar ;-)

Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton > wrote in
:
>
> Coincidentally, I'm drinking more Spanish wine now than ever before
> (well, excepting grad school when Torres's Sangre de Toro at $3.00 a
> bottle was a staple of my existence). However, my Spanish wines these
> days comes primarily from Galicia and El País Vasco, areas that "Big
> Jay" Miller rarely talks about. I do have a few old school Rioja and
> even a bottle of Manchuela from Victor de la Serna's Finca Sandoval.
> Oh, and I've certainly been enjoying various La Bota Sherries from
> Equipo Navazos, but they never make it to our cellar ;-)

I don't drink that much Spanish wine because I have found that Cru
Beaujolais or Chinon are much better suited to my needs xDDD

Now, seriously, there are very interesting wines coming from Spain that
are not spoofulated.

Galice is a good place to start, both for whites and reds. They usually
have an Atlantic (read: not Mediterranean) profile that makes them very
easy to drink.

Sadly, some of the producers from Galice are putting more oak that they
should after they are getting the first recognition. Let's hope they
don't start spoofulating their excellent fruit.

But you can also find excellent wines in Ribera (specially from the sandy
parts). Dominio de Atauta is a classic in this style, and I have heard a
lot of good things of the wines of Goyo García Viadero. Tomás Postigo is
making an outstanding barrel fermented white from D.O. Rueda.

From the South, I am very happy drinking the wines of Cortijo de los
Aguilares, which come altitude vineyards around Ronda (close to
Marbella). Their Pago El Espino is a very good wine.

BTW, some Rioja classic wines from the 2001 are outstanding: both López
de Heredia Tondonia and Bosconia, as well as Viña Ardanza Reserva
Especial.

Best,

s.

On Nov 12, 10:04*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Jean wanted a special dinner tonight to celebrate her return to a
> "normal" diet, so I cooked venison steaks with roasted potatoes, sweet
> potatoes and onions with sauteed bok choy and opened:
>
> 1990 Chapoutier Hermitage "La Sizeranne"
> nose: pencil lead, a hint of licorice, black pepper, blueberry
> palate: smooth tannins, slightly polished, decent acidity
>
> This bottle is a remnant from my Parkeriste days and, while it was a
> perfectly decent bottle of Syrah, it had nothing about it that
> communicated Hermitage or even the Rhone Valley to me. *Viewed outside
> of that lens, it was a fine example of California Syrah ;-)

If I ever had any Chapoutier red Hermitage, it was so long ago that I
do not remember it. However I have a few half bottles of their Vin de
Paille 1990 which I should taste soon. Of course this has nothing in
common with the red you tasted other than the name Chapoutier.

Paul Jaboulet's "La Chapelle" 1982 and 1983 Hermitage were both very
good, and well stored bottles may still be. I have not tasted it for
several years.

I also have had Chave Blanc 1979 and Guigal Blanc 1981. Some of the
best older white Hermitage could age well for many years. Some more
recent examples, even from famous names, have been reported not to age
so long or so well. It appears, that like modern white Burgundy,
changes in production methods may have thrown out the baby with the
bath water as far as good development with very extended aging are
concerned

I liked this wine years ago, uncertain what I'd think now (the variables re changing tastes. wines aging, and bottle variation make for a LOT of conjecture). Thanks for notes.

thanks for suggestions

Louis A. Parker wrote:
> Mark Lipton > wrote in
> :
>> Coincidentally, I'm drinking more Spanish wine now than ever before
>> (well, excepting grad school when Torres's Sangre de Toro at $3.00 a
>> bottle was a staple of my existence). However, my Spanish wines these
>> days comes primarily from Galicia and El País Vasco, areas that "Big
>> Jay" Miller rarely talks about. I do have a few old school Rioja and
>> even a bottle of Manchuela from Victor de la Serna's Finca Sandoval.
>> Oh, and I've certainly been enjoying various La Bota Sherries from
>> Equipo Navazos, but they never make it to our cellar ;-)
>
> I don't drink that much Spanish wine because I have found that Cru
> Beaujolais or Chinon are much better suited to my needs xDDD
>
> Now, seriously, there are very interesting wines coming from Spain that
> are not spoofulated.
>
> Galice is a good place to start, both for whites and reds. They usually
> have an Atlantic (read: not Mediterranean) profile that makes them very
> easy to drink.
>
> Sadly, some of the producers from Galice are putting more oak that they
> should after they are getting the first recognition. Let's hope they
> don't start spoofulating their excellent fruit.
>
> But you can also find excellent wines in Ribera (specially from the sandy
> parts). Dominio de Atauta is a classic in this style, and I have heard a
> lot of good things of the wines of Goyo García Viadero. Tomás Postigo is
> making an outstanding barrel fermented white from D.O. Rueda.
>
> From the South, I am very happy drinking the wines of Cortijo de los
> Aguilares, which come altitude vineyards around Ronda (close to
> Marbella). Their Pago El Espino is a very good wine.
>
> BTW, some Rioja classic wines from the 2001 are outstanding: both López
> de Heredia Tondonia and Bosconia, as well as Viña Ardanza Reserva
> Especial.
>

Louis,
Many thanks for your insights. Yes, I drink quite a bit of Cru
Beaujolais and Chinon/Bourgueil too. While there are quite a few
producers in Bierzo now that have, alas, decided to oak their Mencia, in
the nearby Ribeira Sacra there are some very good producers still making
pure, fresh red wines from Mencia. Godello and Albariño are also on
list these days.

I can't say that I've heard of your Ribera producers before, but I'll
keep an eye out. I don't know where you're located, but Jose Pastor
does a great job of importing interesting Spanish wines to the American
market these days.

And, yes, Lopez de Heredia makes some very interesting wines, but I also
have some recent wines from C.V.N.E. (Reserva Imperial and Contino).


Mark Lipton

me believes Louis is Santiago

DaleW > wrote in
news:7571181.2329.1321240173876.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@vbac9:

> me believes Louis is Santiago

Yessss. Louis A. Parker is the pen name I use in a literature group!

s.

DaleW wrote:
> me believes Louis is Santiago


Ah, so! I missed the signature.

Thanks!
Mark Lipton