Dedalus Wine Shop » Dedalus Featured

Turley Juvenile – That’s right, We’ve Got It

Jason — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:00:38 +0000

2007 Turley Juvenile. Let’s start at the back. “Juvenile” refers to the age of the Zinfandel vines — for this wine, 25 years or younger. Turley is a Zinfandel specialist, gathering old vine grapes planted in California before Prohibition. “Juvenile” is made from the occasional replacements since even the life of a vine is not without measure.

The first impression is a deep purple and the smell of an oak barrel. The taste is bold and composed of primary colors. This is a wine like a late Gauguin — bare breasts and deep jungle greens and blacks. “Spicy” or “peppery” does not really cover the ground. The taste is vivid and fruity in a dark, overweening style. Despite a bias against Zinfandel, I liked it.

The question is how to serve it. Not many meals would stand up to such a young monster. It went beautifully with a gamey, soft cheese, especially after the second glass. It could hold its own, I suppose, beside a hunter’s stew with garlic, tomatoes, and the shoulder of a beast. But really, it ought to be drunk before dinner, with some bread, and admired for the sheer horsepower of the thing.

These wines are genuinely hard to find. Dedalus will let you try this one for a (very reasonable) $21.50

Tuta 6/8/09

Strauss Welschriesling – A bone-dry summer thirst quencher!

Jason — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:49:14 +0000

2008 Strauss Welschriesling is an Austrian white wine — very light and dry, low alcohol (11.5 %) and bright and clear. The taste is stony, clean, and mildly acidic. In your glass, it will be as clear as water. It has a light floral nose. It is highly refreshing and a pleasure to drink in an unreflective, thirsty sort of way.

Welschriesling is a variety of grapes grown throughout Central Europe – as far south as northern Italy and east to the Czech Republic. It has quenched the summer thirst of mitteleuropa since the days of the Hapsburgs. The origin of the grape is unknown except that it has no connection with German Riesling. The name could be rendered as “Romanic Riesling” which suggests an origin east of the Balkans.

We drank two bottles over two nights in great comfort. It is an easy wine to like –uncomplicated and with enough history to give it interest. Dedalus offers this summer bottle for an uncomplicated $14.75.

Tuta 5/27/09

Blanco Nieva Verdejo 2007 – Spain’s Challenge to Sauvignon Blanc

Tim — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:13:30 +0000

The Blanco Nieva 2007. Here is another Spanish wine with good manners — a white made from the verdejo grape in the high plain of Rueda, northwest of Madrid. The summer is long and hot; grapes are harvested at night for freshness. Verdejo has grown into one of Spain’s leading white wine varieties. Blanco Nieva arrives with a rush of botanical flavors — lime, especially, and green apple. This is a rich, forward taste, a little heady and a little tart, enthusiastically young.

Until a few decades ago, verdejo was used to produce inexpensive sherry-like wines — oxidized and a bit grim. These were a hard sell for export. In the 1970’s winemakers in Rueda developed verdejo in a style which was softer, sometimes floral and sometimes citric. Blanco Nieva is a beautiful food wine — fresh, direct, and with a taste strong enough to stand up to saffron, shellfish and chopped garlic.

Blanco Nieva has another advantage. It is inexpensive. Dedalus will let you carry this bottle home for $14.75.

Tuta 5/20/09

Alvario Palacios – Is He Spain’s Most Talented Winemaker?

Jason — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:37:07 +0000

Les Terrasses 2005 Alvaro Palacios. Priorat. This is a fully shaped, large Spanish wine. It tastes of tar and plum and soft leather. The fruit taste is rich and encompassing. The wine is smooth at all times. You can taste the skins of the grape at the end. The finish is long and dry.

Priorat is a small county about two hours south of Barcelona in northeast Spain. The grapes grow on terraces along steep mountain slopes. The soil is quartz and slate – a dark combination called licorello. The production is small, and the work is all done by hand. There is no room for machines. The wines are intense.

Priorat has produced great quantities of wine since the Carthusians established a monastery in the 12th century. The vines were all destroyed by the end of the 19th century by the phylloxera blight. People turned their hands to growing olives. Wine returned in the 1950’s in bulk cooperative production. Only in the last 25 years has Priorat returned to its former strength and vitality.

You could stroll over to Dedalus to try this bottle for $35.25

Phillipe Colin Bourgogne – Fall In Love with a Sporty Old World Pinot Noir

Jason — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:20:47 +0000

Some nights only a clean Burgundy will do. 2006 Philippe Colin Bourgogne is a light pinot noir. It is a beautiful color – light red but deep and real. You can see your hand through the glass. The nose is bracing and positive. The taste is acidic — very evergreen. The tartness and balance are specifically Burgundian. This wine will make your mouth pucker just enough to be enjoyable. After two glasses, you wonder if you could manage a verse of Je ne regrette rien. Later, you will consider giving it all up to play the musical saw on a street lined with sycamores. My friend calls this wine “racy.” I think he is right – it is a lean, fast wine mercifully free of wet fruit and soft flowers.

Dedalus will hand over a bottle of this sporty, coniferous wine for $24.95.

Tuta 4/9/09

Selvapiana – When was the last time you loved Chianti this much?

Jason — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:03:40 +0000

A few miles northeast of Florence, the Rufina district produces excellent Chianti. Fattoria Selvapiana 2006 is a striking example. Selvapiana is an ancient estate – once the summer resort of Florentine prelates. In 1827, the Giuntini Selvapiana family bought the property. They have stayed to make wine and olive oil for many generations.
The 2006 vendemmia (harvest) produced a very correct Chianti. The wine smells like strawberries and new hay. The first taste is astringent. The fruit is well hidden, and you will want to give the wine a minute. Or pour a second glass. The tannins – very assertive at first – will soften to let the sun come through. Soon the wine tastes like a tart cherry early in the year – bright, fresh fruit without much sugar.
Selvapiana 2006 is ready to drink now. It could get a little better if you have the self-restraint to set it aside. This is a wine made for a good dinner. Pasta tossed with broccoli rabe, garlic, oil and a little pork chop would make a fine start.

Dedalus carries this handsome bottle for $22.50

Tuta 3/23/09

Wine Review – Yves Culleron Syrah

Tim — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:03:09 +0000

The northern Rhône produces the world’s finest expression of the syrah grape. The famous districts include Côte-Rôtie (the “burnt or roasted hillside”), St.-Joseph, and Hermitage. These wines will put a dent in an AIG bonus. But there is good news: just west of the Rhône river, the region known as Collines Rhodaniennes also produces marvelous syrah. Because it is labeled ‘vin de pays’ (local wine), you can drink it without imposing debt on your grandchildren.

Yves Cuilleron Syrah 2007 Les Candives is a beautiful example. Mmr. Cuilleron makes very grand red wines in Côte-Rôtie. He also has vineyards close by in the granite hills of Collines Rhodaniennes. “Candives” is the local name for the syrah grape. This wine is restrained and smooth. It tastes of violets and a dark night. Eight months spent in oak barriques (casks) give it some weight and a warmly romantic quality. It is meant to be drunk young.

Like many wines with a floral quality, Les Candives will go best with a little blue cheese for bite. Dedalus offers this completely charming wine for $26.95.

Tuta 3/16/09

Palacios Petalos Bierzo

Tim — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:42:53 +0000

Since the time of the Cistercian monks and the Romans before them, Bierzo in the far northwest corner of Spain has produced wine from the mencia grape. The wine is inky dark and idiosyncratic. The grapes grow on steep hillsides in soil which is quartz and slate. Many vines are a century old.

Pétalos 2006 is made by the Descendientes de José Palacios. Alvaro Palacios produces the wine in small quantities in honor of his father. His wine tastes like a meadow: wild blueberries, damp stone, flowers, and rain. The concentrated taste of plum and berries is like a petite sirah. The wine ages for a few months in French oak – just long enough to add a little spice and smoke.

It is not obvious when to serve this bright fresh wine. It has a breakfast quality, but the early hour may not be appropriate for all of us. We held off until 5:00 and drank it before dinner with a little hard cheese. It would also be a spirited choice with grilled meat sliced on a salad.

Dedalus offers this wine for $21.50.

Tuta 3/3/09

Juan Rojo to the Rescue – A Beautiful Tempranillo From the Remote Mountains of Spain

Jason — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:32:17 +0000

Juan Rojo 2004 Toro is a well-made tempranillo from northern Spain. Toro is a remote and very rural denominacion de origen close to the border with Portugal. It is known for the great age of its vines which were left largely untouched by the phylloxera blight. The soil, sandy and spare, proved to be inhospitable to the root louse. The vineyards are located about 2,400 feet above sea level. The cool nights produce a dark wine which is concentrated in flavor.
Juan Rojo is made from 100 % tempranillo grapes. The vines are about 80 years old. The wine ages for 8 months in oak and has a full nose – leathery and fragrant. The taste is focused and uncomplicated: dried red fruit, a rich, bright quality, and moderate tannins. There are no bad surprises; no disappointing sweetness or off tastes. The finish is long and dry. The taste remains in your mouth long after the wine is gone. You could think about serving the Juan Rojo with lamb sausage and white beans. Perhaps with a fried egg for strength.

Dedalus has this fine rustic article for $ 19.50

Tuta 2/24/09

A Well Kept Secret: The Northern Rhône Ghost of Lemenicier

Jason — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:10:21 +0000

Sometimes the things we overlook astound us when they actually come into focus. Saint-Péray is one of those things. The tiny appellation in France’s northern Rhône bears the burden of Napoleon’s first wine-drinking experience as a young cadet. Back then, the sparkling wines of the region rivaled those from Champagne both in terms of their quality and their reputation. How many bottles of bubbly from Saint-Péray have you had? Needless to say, things have changed over the years. While the sparkling wines are tasty, the French mostly horde them for themselves. These days, the most the appellation gets is a passing reference in wine books thick enough to spare a few lines for “curiosity wines” and weird appellations. This is a very ying and yang phenomenon. On the one hand, the beautiful, dry, still wines from the region are overlooked by countless people who would love them. On the other hand, that keeps pricing under control for those in-the-know.

Jacques Lemenicier is like a ghost in the Rhône. Google the name and you’ll find countless references to his wines, and a few links to the prominent commissions he holds and boards that he belongs to (a testament to his reputation) and even an article or two referring to the French Baroque artist and engineer of the same name who may – or may not – be a relative. What you probably won’t find is a website for the domaine, any marketing hype about his wines, or a personality-construct designed to support his “brand”. Nope, Jacques’ comings and goings in the Rhone are known to a very few only as a result of the totally distinct, delicious wines he bottles. Perhaps the least well-known of which is his Saint-Péray, aptly named Cuvée Elégance.

This blend of mostly Marsanne with a bit of Rousanne is an intense stunner of a wine. The nose is like a banana smashed against some concrete and mixed up with a bit of gravel and lime. On the palette, the wine is viscous and juicy. I was left with the impression of wet stones and velvet, a hint of cedar and caramel from what seems to be the very judicious use of oak, and a long, lingering, spicy finish. With food, a nice peice of grilled skate with capers and sauced with a gastrique or burre-blanc, this would be a revelation. On its own the wine remains powerful. Particularly if you’ve only heard wine geeks refer to minerality and haven’t yet experienced it on your own. A few years in the cellar will pay some dividends with this wine.

Jacques Lemenicier Saint-Péray, 2006 Cuvée Elégance – $23.95