Wine Review Wednesday: Domaine Gerovassiliou Viognier 2008

Several weeks ago, I attended a wine lunch and tasting at New York’s Marea Restaurant that featured a number of Greek wines being imported by the excellent firm Cava Spiliades. And like too many people, my experience with the wines of Greece had been limited mainly to the occasional bottle Moschofilero, but beyond that, not much.

However, it very quickly became apparent at this lunch that I’d been missing out: The wines--reds and whites in equal measure--were fantastic: Well-crafted from high-quality fruit, balanced, and supremely food-friendly.

Then yesterday, I had the chance to taste more excellent wine, this time with the legendary Greek winemaker Evangelos Gerovassiliou, and George Spiliadis, the importer and passionate advocate of the artisanal wines and foods of Greece. Lunch this time was at the spectacular Milos, which George and his family own. Both the wine and the food were remarkable.

I’ll be reporting on all of the wines, as well as the food, in more detail in the coming weeks, but for now, I wanted to share the tasting note for one of the single best Viogniers I’ve tasted all year: The Domaine Gerovassiliou 2008, which is not only a spectacular bottle of wine, but also is representative of the remarkable, exciting changes that are happening in the Greek wine world. I cannot possibly recommend these wines highly enough.

This particular bottling starts out notably spicy on the nose, with aromas of charred peaches, smoke, nuts, and the unmistakable perfume of ginger providing lift. The texture, all chewy and glycerine, is balanced out by a fresh acidity that is far too often missing from other Viogniers. (That acid balance, in fact, seems to be a hallmark of the wines brought in by Cava Spiliadis.) Mango and peach, as well as more spice and smoke, define the palate, and the finish remains fresh and mouthwatering, allowing the impression of the wine to linger beautifully.

Over the course of two lunches and some tasting on my own at my home office, I have, rather quickly, become a very big believer in the wines of Greece, especially when they’re made with as much care and attention to detail as this one. What utterly gorgeous wine.

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New Years Resolutions

Forget about traditional New Years resolutions: As wonderful as they sound today, they lose their luster, for most of us, somewhere around brunch on January 1st. Who, after all, can really follow through on their vow to eat healthier in the face of New Year’s day brunch? And that gym membership you swore you’d purchase this year? Well, maybe it can wait till bathing-suit season is a bit closer at hand…

So forget about those unkeepable promises for the new year; instead, focus on something you’ll actually want to keep.

Drink better.

Now, after all, is the time to make the vow to drink more broadly, with a more open mind, a more willing palate, and a wholehearted acceptance of the three key rules of wine consumption:

The wine world is a big place; explore wines from all parts of it.

Great wine often comes from grapes you may not be familiar with; don’t shy away from unusual or unfamiliar varieties.

And don’t ever assume that you know what to expect from a specific producer or region; change happens all the time, and smart consumers will embrace it.

If you follow these rules—if you allow them to provide a framework of sorts for your vinous decisions from here on out—then I promise that your wine life will be far richer, and far more rewarding, than it ever has been before.

The hard part, though—as always—is knowing where to start.

Personally, I can think of no better place (especially this time of year) than Champagne. As readers of this blog know, I visited the region this past September during the harvest, and spent a week tasting the wines and speaking with producers. I cannot stress enough how impressed I was with both the quality and the range of styles.

Indeed, now is the time to branch out and start exploring the region as a whole. Whatever you buy, though, go beyond your usual comfort zone: Champagne is a far more nuanced, and far more finely mapped, region than most people realize, and the range of wines coming from there is just astounding.

It’s also a great idea to re-familiarize yourself with producers you thought you knew. Of all the affordable wines from California that I’ve tasted in the past year, few have surprised and impressed me quite as much as Blackstone. I had the chance to sit down to lunch with winemaker Gary Sitton this past summer, and his passion for wine, and his desire to express the unique terroirs that his grapes are grown in, are infectious.

The Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Chardonnay 2007, for example, incorporates fruit from four specific vineyards in Carneros, the Russian River Valley, and Sonoma Coast, and showcases all the rich, warm characteristics you’d expect (brown butter, almonds, lovely fruit), as well as a sense of minerality and energy-held-in-reserve that you may not have. And the 2006 “Rubric” bottling, with its grilled graphite, red plums, chocolate, minerality, and spice, is a marvel at a great price.

Grape varieties to keep your eyes open for in the coming year and beyond include bright, often very gently perfumed Albariño from Spain, particularly Rias Baixas in the North West of the country; Torrontes, with its typical notes of melon and flowers, from Argentina; white Rhone Valley varietals like Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier from France and California and Australia; Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch, and St. Laurent, the excellent red Austrian grapes that I reported on here several months ago after my trip to the wine regions in the East of the country; the wines of Long Island; the new generation of high-end whites from Italy’s Alto Adige; and the list goes on.

Here’s the point: There is no longer any excuse to drink the same as you always did, no matter which direction your tastes run in. And this time of year, with all the days off from work and the many large meals centered around the holiday and New Year’s celebrations, offers the perfect excuse (as if you needed one!) to start exploring.

Plus, promising to venture off into the ever-growing world of wine is infinitely more fun than resolving to go to the gym more in the new year.

This, indeed, is one New Years resolution you’ll actually want to keep.

(Note: This blog post has been adapted from a column I recently wrote for Affluent Magazine.)

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Holiday Wines: Thanksgiving Edition

Last week, as part of my trip to California, I made an appearance on "View from the Bay," the afternoon talk show on ABC 7 in San Francisco. The segment, which focuses on unusual wines for the holidays, is below, and includes two wines that are available right here at Wine Chateau, the Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc - Viognier and the ForeFront Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Domaine de Triennes Viognier "Sainte Fleur" 2007

In a lot of ways, Domaine de Triennes is like the 1992 United States Olympic basketball squad—the legendary Dream Team. This Southern French estate, like its sports-world predecessor, is all about the best people finding themselves in the right place at the perfect time. And the results, like they were for those hoopsters, are spectacular.

The two most famous names behind Domaine de Triennes are Jacques Seysses, founder of Burgundy’s highly regarded Domaine Dujac, and Aubert de Villaine, co-owner of what is possibly the most revered producer in the world, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. (The third partner is Michel Macoux.) The result of their vision, labor, attention to detail, and deep respect for the land and the wine produced from it—at least as far as their phenomenal 2007 Viognier is concerned—is everything you would expect from such a group.

The 46-hectare vineyard, planted to Viognier, Chardonnay, Cabernet, Syrah, and Merlot, is nestled in the Pays du Var, east of Aix-en-Provence. It’s altitude (approximately 1,375ft – 1,475ft) and southern face combine to afford the grapes the opportunity to achieve ideal ripeness while still maintaining fresh acidity. This sense of balance was, in fact, the first aspect of the Viognier to strike me upon taking that initial sniff and sip.

Aromas of orange blossom, honeysuckle, and minerals rose from the glass, but without the overly lush perfume and lack of freshness that so many Viogniers suffer from. The real surprise, though, was on the palate, where the wine’s super-fresh acidity provided a sense of posture and structure that is all to rare with this grape. Notes of orange oil, mineral, and sweet summer stone fruit dominated the mid-palate, and were given an added sense of drama by the plush texture. The finish brought a subtle orange-pith bitterness that kept the richness of the mid-palate from growing overwhelming. This structured, brilliantly crafted, and utterly delicious wine is one of the best Viogniers I’ve tasted all year. And the price—under $16!—is nothing short of miraculous.

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