Wine With Leslie: Some California wines to toast the US inauguration
Leslie's selections this week include a couple of inexpensive cheery wines and five more serious wines from lesser-known California AVAs
A mini-focus on the USA this week to mark the swearing-in of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States of America — and let’s not forget his Vice-President, Kamala Harris.
May 2021 will mark 45 years since the Judgement of Paris tasting which saw Californian Cabernet Sauvignon triumph over red Bordeaux and Californian Chardonnay beat out fine Burgundy. The tasting has been re-staged frequently and California almost always wins and there is no doubt that the finest wines of California really can be sublime.
Two years ago I tasted my way through the Ridge range at a dinner in Lough Erne including a couple of vintages of their legendary Monte Bello (one of the Paris wines) — the flavours in some of those wines lingers with me to this day. Sadly the very best wines of California cost just as much (and sometimes more) as the best of Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Instead of chasing the best Napa and Sonoma wines, however, I increasingly look to cooler and lesser-known regions. Livermore Valley, Lodi, Monterey and the Santa Ynez Valley (as featured in ) can all offer excellent Zinfandel, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. And, for a little extra, the Pinot Noirs in the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County can be outstanding.
In September this year, I watched a seminar on New York vineyards including producers from Long Island and the Finger lakes and I would love to see more of them here. I visited Long Island in the 1990s and was only somewhat impressed but I gather they have improved in leaps and bounds. I have been lucky enough to taste some utterly delicious Rieslings from the Finger Lakes in the past and some fascinating reds including McGregor Vineyards Black Russian Red made from a blend including Saperavi and Sereksiya Charni.
My selections this week include a couple of inexpensive cheery wines and five more serious wines from lesser-known California AVAs (American Viticultural Area). It is tough to find wine to recommend under €15 from California as at that price level the wines tend to be very commercial and often far too sweet (for my palate at least - cf. the hugely popular Apothic).
Also, you will see at the bottom of the page I have recommended an excellent Bourbon. The American Whiskey scene has had a similar renaissance to our own in recent years and is well worth exploring. I’ll be raising a glass of it to Joe and Kamala next Wednesday.
Matsons, JJ O’Driscolls, O’Herlighys, Tesco, wineoftheworld.ie
Kylie added a couple of new wines to her range late last year including a soft Merlot and this zingy Sauvignon. This is from Gascony, one of the best places in France for crisp inexpensive whites and is just 11.5% abv. Citrus and green apple aromas, lime essence and nicely zesty and crisp the palate, perfect for fish and chips.
Aldi
A cheap and cheerful fruity red for the darkest month of the year. This is from the Utiel-Requena region near Alicante: an underrated region which has lots of old vine dry-farmed Bobal — the same grape used here. This is bright and juicy with lots of dark plum fruits and a touch of clove and allspice — perfect for a rich casserole or stew.
O'Briens, Independents, Jus de Vine
While Zinfandel makes me think of California, I have to remind myself that it is identical to Italian Primitivo and Croatian Tribidrag. Beringer is one of the oldest California wineries and fairly priced across the range. This has bright red and black fruit aromas and flavours with good weight and touches of spice and blackberry and overall a pleasing, rounded, creamy ripeness.
Blackrock Cellar, Clontarf Wines, Deveneys, D-6, martinsofflicence.ie, corkscrew.ie
Named for the morning fog in the Livermore Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) created by cool Pacific currents — the same fog as found in nearby San Francisco Bay. Part-fermented in (neutral) oak barrels with lots of lees contact this had delightful creamy vanilla and pear aromas, clean brisk lemon and yellow apple fruits, and brisk acidity providing a lively clean finish.
O’Briens
Made exclusively from fruit sourced in the Sleepy Hollow Vineyard on the east-facing slopes of the Santa Lucia Mountains just south of cool Monterey Bay. This AVA has some altitude and is perfectly suited to both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This is savoury and complex with black cherry and red currant fruits mixed with savoury earthy tones, silky and complex and a fine example of Californian Pinot.
O’Briens
Owned by a Galway family who keep their wines as pure as possible with lots of lees contact and careful use of oak. This is made from biodynamic fruit grown in the Russian River Valley AVA in Sonoma County which has strong influences from the Pacific Ocean — pristine and pure with honeysuckle and pineapple aromas mixed with peaches and apple but also crisp and zingy on the palate with lingering lemon curd touches.
O’Briens, Celtic Whiskey Killarney & Dublin, Molloys, Selected SuperValu, Dunnes etc., Independents.
Buffalo Trace Distillery is owned by Sazerac which also owns Paddy Whiskey these days. The distillery is the home of the legendary and completely unobtainable Pappy Van Winkle whiskey, familiar to fans of the TV programme.
Across their range their bourbons are impressive and even standard Buffalo Trace is worth a look — creamy and spicy with vanilla and mint notes. Eagle Rare 10 is a step up with caramel, almonds and golden syrup aromas, while on the palate cloves, cinnamon and allspice mix with crème caramel and a peppery finish. The 17-Year-Old (€295) doubles down on the cream and spice.
