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Knuckleballs, Lost Love, and St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 2001
A cracked spring training bat signed by then pitching coach Phil Niekro.
Two weeks into the new year and I’m already 12 days (and five years) behind on my resolution(s). Back to life… back to reality. Well, if reality were a pile of rare wine and 46oz axe handle ribeyes. I’m so scattered that I’m quoting Soul II Soul, but I digress… from my digression. Red meat & red wine is just one of those (combination of) things, right up there with the all-time greats. And while a number of interesting and beautiful reds (and one white- Wind Gap Trousseau Gris 2011) were sipped over succulent charred animal flesh at St. Anselm, it is the St Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 2001 that most warrants documentation.
St. Innocent is one of those great American owner/winemaker situations, where proprietor Mark Vlossak makes some of Oregon’s most compelling (single vineyard) bottled produce. The hardiest examples from the stronger vintages defy the absurd common wisdom that American Pinot Noir doesn’t age well. And the finest expressions of Shea vineyard grapes age as well as any American Pinot Noir; far greater longevity than a francophile will ever admit. And this one is fairly interesting, over a decade after crush.
What was that about American Pinot not aging well again?
So, I finally watched Knuckleball, which reminded me acutely that baseball was my first love, well before wine, or even women. If you have ever loved anything about any sport that wasn’t based in some re-wired tribalism, Knuckleball will warm the cockles of your heart. Didn’t know that R.A. Dickey was a born again Christian, but one of many reasons I stopped following organized sports was that I didn’t want to support the livelihood of thugs and felons. So, like saddling up to an Irish bar, let’s leave the religion and politics at the door (for today). But if I find out that Charlie Hough, The Niekro brothers, and Tim Wakefield are all born again, and that only by taking the New Tastament version of Jesus Christ Superstar into one’s heart, can you truly take the spin off of that demoniacle changeup, I’ll be very upset. Regardless, if I do follow baseball this season, it’ll likely be the Blue Jays that interest me. May the force be with you, R.A.
Back to the wine: St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 2001 is showing slightly less fruit than previous tastings, but no less expansive baseline of furry dry raspberry, brambly, but thornless, and a lesser presence of red cherry. There’s a broad mid-palate of dusty crushed granite, dry earth, pine tar, ancient cedar chips, and just a touch of gaminess. With further breath the mid-palate opens to palate-suckingly dry, before a deceptively long, undulating finish. It’s beautiful stuff, but have a large glass of clear cool water handy. Always remember: Hydration is your friend. It makes tomorrow possible. From the weight and breadth of the St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 2001, it’s difficult to discern how much life this wine has left in it, but it’s well worth pairing with a well-marbled world-class steak today.
The Unbearable Rightness of Seasons: Sean Thackrey, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and St. Anselm
I often say: Nerds make all the good stuff. Which makes sense, because smart people tend to find and create interesting processes and products at a much greater rate than those less cerebrally gifted. Amongst winemakers, there are few nerds on the level of Sean Thackrey. He maintains, translates, and makes available his renowned collection of ancient texts on winemaking. He also gleans techniques from them with which to experiment on worthy grapes, here in the future. At their best, Thackrey’s results are world class, by any scale or measure. I don’t often defer directly to a media outlet (nor do I like to post links w/ ads), but I couldn’t possibly reTweet you a better instagram of the winemaker and the iceberg tip of his philosophy than did Chow.com in video form. Go watch it. Seriously. I’ll wait….
Orion's 2nd vintage and the 100th anniversary of the Rossi Vineyard.
So, I don’t have new tasting notes on any specific Thackrey wine, but I did learn that the proprietor of Spuyten Duyvil, Fette Sau, and most recently St. Anselm, here in Brooklyn, is the second biggest Thackrey nerd in Brooklyn. A couple of conversations later, St. Anselm has the most extensive selection of Sean Thackrey wine of any restaurant on earth, including the non-vintage Pleiades, Andromeda Pinot Noir, Sirius Petite Sirah, and 6 vintages of his flagship California native field blend, Orion. St. Anselm already had one of the best small wine lists in Brooklyn, now one can find well aged bottled gems to accompany serious cuts of grilled meat. Apparently the (various) whole fish is excellent as well, but we all have our priorities. Mine is finding the perfect syrah to pair with lamb saddle and rib eye.
At St. Anselm last night, enjoying the delightfully accompanied meat monster on grilled bread they call a patty melt, the soundtrack added quite a bit to my burger and my day: Hendrix’ “Bold as Love” the semi-title cut off his masterpiece, Axis Bold as Love, the greatest record ever made. After my Jimi moment, I was reminded that Frank Zappa was not only an actual genius at writing and arranging music, but he could be laugh out loud funny in a Steven Wright deadpan on acid sort of way (Zappa hated drugs!): “Bobby Brown Goes Down” from Zappa’s 1979 Sheik Yerbouti. And if you want to throw some crap around about how silly the album title is, go take a quick peak at what else the record companies were pressing that vintage. I mean, whatever happened to Randy Vanwarmer?
Wait, what was the question?
Happy LeapDay!
WineGeist
Labouré-Roi Pinot Noir Vin de Pays d’Oc 2010 and Childish Gambino
A regal cap.
Continuing thoughts on low cost baseline Burgundy, I recently opened a brand spanking new Labouré-Roi Pinot Noir Vin de Pays d’Oc 2010. Vin de Pays simply means “country wine” which is a French designation a hair above table wine. Vin de Pays d’Oc is the largest area from which this classification of country wine hails: the Laguedoc-Roussillon area of Mediteranian France. I first became interested in Labouré-Roi as they bottle some of the most reasonably priced wines out of Nuits St Georges in Burgundy, a region of long-time fascination for my palate.
I’m Listening to some (free) Childish Gambino tracks which warms the heart that gave up on rap and hip hop a long time ago. The last good album of this genre that I reviewed was the first Black Eyed Peas record, which was long before Fergie, fashion, and pyrotechnics. Since then, only Brooklyn-based Masterminds have turned my ear, and they were never able to gain any mainstream traction. Childish Gambino is the rap persona of writer, comedian, and actor Donald Glover, who was the youngest writer on 30 Rock, but is best known as Troy on Community. While much of his flow pays homage to Lil Wayne (whose work I do not enjoy), Gambino employs a wit and a self-awareness that would make a real rough-neck’s head explode. He puts it best himself, “You used to have to act street and now you’ve got a choice.” Thanks for that, Donald.
Simple, but well made pinot.
At first waft, the Labouré-Roi Pinot Noir Vin de Pays d’Oc 2010 hits with sharp new wine alcohol in a way that feels like a light bourbon or a heavy red fruit liqueur, but that blows off in short order. Beneath is properly drinking medium/light bodied young pinot. The wine has solid structure, but modest depth and nice fruit, showing a palate sprinkled with cool- edge of the forest- earth, spring raspberries, and wild herbs. Oak takes over toward the finish, leaving a dry savory aftertaste. As with any young wine, 6 months in the bottle can only help, but for around ten bucks, this is fully palatable (food friendly) pinot noir today.
Sanford Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2007 and Megafaun’s Gather, Form & Fly
It’s been hot lately, here in Brooklyn, and I’ve been drinking more white than usual; most recently a Sanford Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2007. Back when Sanford Chardonnay made a cameo appearance in Sideways, it was still owned by the fellow whose name is on the bottle (Richard Sanford). Now a Terlato Group property, they’re still producing bottles with nice wine under those old labels.
Not thrilling, but nice.
I’m listening to Megafaun’s Gather, Form & Fly, which opens with a gorgeous instrumental called “Bella Marie”. These guys are as comfortable with the acoustic weapons of Americana and thick harmonies as they are with coaxing a subtle background loop out of a laptop. The result is a record as deep of orchestration as in sheer range, and reassurance that nerds make all the cool stuff. “The Fade” is the closest I’ve heard to a CSN moment in any band that’s currently vital. “Worried Mind” is their campfire ballad that’s often performed without amplification. The album ends with “Tides” which is sleepy as a lullaby yet somehow urgent. If I were deliberately pairing these musical tangents, Gather, Form & Fly would have been perfect with that sweetly off-beat Dettori Bianco.
Now back to your regularly scheduled program, already in progress. Sanford Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2007 is pale gold in the glass with just the faintest tinge of green. The palate and nose are in relative harmony, wearing well Bartlett Pair and lemon zest. It finishes with a crisp acidity and is wholly food friendly. As the wine warms toward room temperature and breathes a little, the mouthfeel gets richer and leaves behind that tip of the tongue dryness, but mostly it’s just a pretty summer wine. Their single vineyard bottle sourced from La Rinconada is a more substantial offering, but at the next price point, and more importantly, a story for another time.
