Anthony Austin’s New Left Edge Pinot Noirs

During my recent visit to California, I met up with Anthony Austin, the talented Sonoma County winemaker who is producing some of California’s finest new Pinots. Tony is currently crafting the wines at Sonoma Coast Vineyards, where he was a founding partner (the winery has since been sold) and has begun a new 1000 case Pinot project of his own called Left Edge. In both winemaking ventures Tony is focused on producing wine from the southern Sonoma Coast, a region of both challenges and opportunities for great Pinot Noir.

A UC Davis graduate in enology, Tony studied with the legendary Andre Tchelistcheff and later directed the first crush at Firestone in 1976. Firestone was the first modern commercial winery in the Santa Barbara area and, while Tony was at the helm, it won many prestigious awards for its wines. In 1981, Tony left to establish his own label, Austin Cellars, in Los Olivos and made some first-rate Pinots there ( a Sierra Madre Vineyard and a Bien Nacido Vineyard) until 1992 when the winery was sold. Today, Tony has some 30 vintages under his belt and is as passionate as ever about producing Pinot Noir.

The Left Edge project, like Sonoma Coast Vineyards, sources fruit from independent growers such as Petersen Vineyard and Balistreri Vineyard situated along the southern Sonoma Coast. This area is very challenging for growing Pinot because of extreme weather conditions—the cold of the coldest—the left edge of the mountain ranges that run along the coast. Very cold temperatures from the Pacific make for long growing seasons and difficult ripening of fruit. Yields are very low and mature grapes have low sugar levels. Yet, these same conditions can yield elegant wines with just the right balance of fruit and acidity— in the hands of an experienced winemaker.

Tony refers to his new Left Edge venture as producing the “next generation” of Pinot Noir. He does does not manipulate his wines like some winemakers do, preferring instead to follow a low impact regime. He cold soaks his fruit without alcohol to extract rich flavors without tannins, ferments in small lots (using one ton fermenters) , does punch downs by hand, and racks only once in the late spring. The wines are truly handcrafted. Keep in mind that for now, Left Edge is only a 1,000 case project, tiny by California standards—but its prospects are very promising.

Following are my notes on the two Left Edge single-vineyard Pinots tasted. I enjoyed tasting these wines and am happy to report to our readers that the i-WineReview will be reporting in-depth on the California Pinot scene in 2009.

Left Edge 2007 Pinot Noir, Petersen Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
The Petersen Vineyard is located in a cold area of the Petaluma Gap and has yields below 2 tons/acre. The wine is medium ruby in color and shows lovely fruit forward aromas of red raspberry and plum. Aged in 50% new French oak for less than one year, it displays good acidity and balance with high toned ripe fruit flavors on the palate, rounded tannins and good grip on the finish.


Left Edge 2007 Pinot Noir, Balistreri Vineyard, Sonoma Coast The Balistreri Vineyard is situated four and half miles from the Pacific Ocean and is one of the coldest vineyards on the extreme Sonoma Coast. Its yields are very low. Dark ruby in color, the wine exhibits rich and spicy aromas and concentrated flavors of red berries and plums as well as some minerality. Aged in 100% new French oak for one year, it exhibits a bold and rich personality with integrated flavors, rounded mouth feel, good acidity and just the right balance through to the finish.

Mike Potashnik,
Publisher
International Wine Review

Wine Classification: The Chianti Classico DOCG and Oregon AVAs.

In the International Wine Review’s tastings and travels around the world, we always encounter the question of how to interpret the classifications of wines found on the labels of wine bottles. We encounter this question once again as we taste our way through wines for our upcoming reports on Chianti Classico and Oregon.

As the market for wine becomes increasingly globalized, wine classification becomes both ever more important and of questionable value. It is important because classification can signify unique characteristics of the wine. It is of questionable value because the reality is that some classifications are in fact meaningless and because no consumer can possibly be expected to understand and interpret each country’s classification as printed on the wine label.

Why classify wines in the first place? The answer appears to be part quality control, part history, part consumer information, and part marketing. In Europe, where a regional classification (e.g., the Chianti Classico DOCG) usually specifies the varietals that can be grown in that region as well as the growing conditions, the argument is usually one of quality control married to history. A region that has traditionally grown certain varietals and used particular winemaking techniques is, rightly or wrongly, presumed to have arrived at those varietals through some process of natural selection. The classification system is one means of preserving the results of that process.

In the New World, where a regional classification (e.g., Willamette Valley AVA) does little more than designate a geographic region with special soil, altitude, and temperature characteristics (in short, terroir), the label may say something about the potential of the region to grow quality grapes, but it neither sets nor enforces quality standards. Obviously, terroir can vary immensely within a small geographic region, which is the rationale for the growing number of sub-regional classifications (e.g., Red Hill Douglas County), especially in Oregon.

It would appear that the burgeoning number of wine classifications is driven as much by marketing as other considerations. Yet in Chianti Classico, where one could make sound arguments for sub-regional classifications for Radda, Gaiole, Castellina, and Greve, there are none.

In a world where [1] the quality of wine is determined at least as much by the winemaker and the vineyard as it is by regional location and [2] the brand name of a winery often has greater marketing pull than the name of a region, the marketing value of a regional or sub-regional classification is increasingly being challenged. After all, the ultimate sub-regional classification is the vineyard itself.

Champagne and Sparkling Wine Wine/Food Pairing Chart

We were recently asked by some of our readers what food to pair with Rosé champagne and sparkling wine. For our answer, we turned to the i-WineReview's wonderful food pairing chart which is included in the newly released December 2008 report The World of Sparkling Wine and Champange. The chart was prepared by Edward M. Korry, MA CWE of the Johnson and Wales College of Culinary Arts in Providence, RI and here is what it recommends:

Dry, high acid, medium bodied rosés are best paired with some of the following dishes: foie gras; carpaccio of beef, ratatouille, grilled salmon or grilled shrimp, beef tenderloin with mushrooms. pork asado, Thanksgiving turkey and roast duck. You can also pair them with aged dry cheeses at the end of a meal.

Dry, full bodied roses and red sparkling wines go best with: Charcuterie and pates, dim sum, grilled tuna steaks, Turkey, pork with mole sauce, beef stews, rack of lamb, and rare venison tenderloin.

There are more ideas in last year's Champagne report which I highly recommend to readers.

A Donkey and Goat Winery: Berkeley Garagiste

Wine Reviews and Travels by Mike Potashnik, Publisher, International Wine Review

During a recent visit to California, I stopped off in Berkeley to visit a young and highly promising winery called A Donkey and Goat. This tiny garagiste winery is owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Tracey and Jared Brandt. The Brandts learned their winemaking from Eric Texier, a négoce who produces premium wines from purchased grapes in the Macconais and the Rhone. The winery sources grapes from diverse vineyards in the Sierra Foothills of El Dorado, Anderson Valley, Mendocino Ridge , McDowell Valley and the Chalone appellation. The wines are hand crafted with attention to detail. They are terroir-driven with both personality and balance. The winery produces about 2000 cases annually and the following are my notes from the wonderful wines I was able to taste.

A Donkey and Goat 2006 Fenaughty Vineyard Syrah, El Dorado ($35) 90 Opaque ruby with attractive aromas of plum and blackberry fruit, violets and black pepper. Lush mouthfeel with ripe juicy black fruit, excellent balance, rounded tannins, and a long lasting finish. A beautiful wine.

A Donkey and Goat 2006 Three Thirteen, California ($35) 88 A blend of Syrah, Mouvedre and Grenache. Medium dark ruby purple in color with spicy strawberry and red fruit aromas. Fresh and flavorful with ripe red and black fruit on the palate including notes of pepper and spice. This is lovely and versatile wine which you would enjoy with bistro food.

A Donkey and Goat 2006 Vielle Vignes Mendocino Ridge ($37) 92 A wine sourced from up to 100-year old high altitude field blends of Syrah and Petite Sirah. Exhibits an opaque ruby purple color and aromas of black fruit, minerals, black pepper and violets. Rich and flavorful spicy black fruit on the palate with a silky smooth mouthfeel, mature tannins with some grip, and a long satisfying finish. A terrific wine that will likely improve with age.

A Donkey and Goat 2005 Syrah Reserve Brosseau Vineyard Chalone ($55) 91 Opaque ruby purple. Reveals aromas of high-toned black fruit and toasty oak. It spends 36 months in 2-year old oak barrels and is silky smooth on the palate with ripe concentrated black fruit flavors and black pepper notes. The wine reveals purity of fruit, elegance and balance with ripe gripping tannins on the finish.

Donkey and Goat 2007 Tamaraindo Rousanne, El Dorado ($26) 88 Yellow gold. Aromas of white peach with a citrus note. Rich and flavorful on the attack, with less intensity of fruit on the mid-palate, and good balance and acidity on the finish. A wine showing freshness and delicacy and is a welcome new white Rhone-style wine.

For more in-depth analysis and tasting notes on California Syrah, check out the i-WineReview’s issue 4 and issue 12..

Wall Street Journal and IWR Recommend Cava

The Wall Street Journal recommends Spanish Cava for its 2008 sampler case from around the globe. In its December report on Sparkling Wines and Champagnes, the International Wine Review fully agrees. While Spanish Cava seldom reaches the quality levels of good French Champagne, it often provides extremely good value. We recently tasted a large number of Cavas, and here’s out list of the very best, including the US or European price and our score using the 100 point scale.

Can Rafols dels Caus Gran Caus Gran Reserva 2003 (EUR 13€) 93
Can Rafols dels Caus Gran Caus Rosado Extra Brut 2004 (EUR 17€) 92
Cristalino 2003 Brut Finca El Padruell Cava ($9) 90
Montsarra NV Brut Cava ($23) 91
Poema NV Brut Cava ($12) 91
Raventos i Blanc 2003 Gran Reserva de la Finca Cava ($40) 91
Agusti Torello Mata 2003 Kripta Brut Nature Gran Reserva Cava ($75) 90
Celler Batlle Gramona Imperial Gran Reserva 2004 (EUR 18€) 90
Celler Batlle Gramona III Lustros Gran Reserva 2001 (EUR 23€) 90
Maria Casanovas 2004 Brut Nature Gran Reserva Cava ($40) 90
Mont Marcal 2005 Brut Reserva Cava ($14) 90