2018 Onyx Rose wine - An enthusiastic review

Wow! It's so much fun to find great wines at low prices. This 2018 Onyx Rose wine from Provence (France) is wonderful, and it's on closeout special now, as the 2019 roses are "on the boat" over here to the US.

1. "Is it past its prime?" you ask. An emphatic "no!" I had it, over the course of an hour, and it had been open for a whole day, and yet it was fresh and singing loudly.
2. Color: Pale pinkish-salmon, the typical color for Provencal roses.
3. Bouquet:  A delightful mix of summer fruits, and flowers, and lots of steel and flint. Really nice.
4. Palate: Those same fruits carried along on a great acidic frame. This is so good with food. It's a bigger and bit-fruitier wine than you expect from a French rose, so it sits in between Old World and New World stylistically.
5. Finish: A good finish, but that's not the appeal here.

This wine's made from GSM--Grenache-Syrah-Mouvedre grapes, by the famous Aix winery. I'm selling it now for just $9! Wow.

2018 Maryhill Rose of Sangiovese

What a charming rose! Yes, it's New World (lots of powerful fruit), but as I tell anyone who will listen: A grape is a fruit, and so a wine should taste like fruit!

Here we have strawberries and cranberries, riding on a lovely acid frame. Not too complex, but who cares? when the effect is so perfect?   It's nice that a 2018 rose can still sing like this. Sangiovese makes great roses (check out Barnard Griffin's Rose of Sangio. which wins every award you can name). Life is better with good rose, especially in Spring.

In order to fit my dinner into "Rose-land," when we were hitting Papa Murphy's tonight for an easy dinner (we usually cook in), I chose something new: Chicken, bacon, artichokes, onion, parmesan, on thin crust with a white garlic cream sauce, with jalepenos added at home, and wow! Perfect with this rose.

Maryhill makes a HUGE slate of wines, and I choose among those--not all are right for me. The Proprietor's Reserve wines are consistently good choices (and not too expensive), but here, in 2018, the "regular" Rose of Sangio is better than the Proprietor' Reserve Rose. But both are good.

If you don't live in the Pac NW, GET UP HERE! The world is changing, environmentally and governmentally, you need to be up here, if you have an open mind. Life is great here.

Dogged: 2018 Epona Cider: It's all about learning, learning, learning - Look at this possibly-stupid level of effort:

"Dogged." I don't know if dogs are persistent, but I am.

My 2018 apple cider has an issue: It hardly fermented in the bottle at all (I use the French country style, where you "charge" each bottle with sugar and yeast, as you bottle it).  While "still cider" is a thing in Europe (and it's a legitimate cider style), in the US most cider lovers want those bubbles.

At first I just discounted the cider in price, sold a quarter of it, and jumped into trying to figure out what happened. Then, I got creative about how to rescue the remaining cider:

What happened originally:
a. The cider itself (disregarding the bubbles is the best I've made. It's my first using crabapples and bittersweet apples, all from Epona Farm, in addition to the wonderful array of "sweet-sharp" heritage cider apples that were already here. It's the first to have some lactose added to it (dairy allergy alert), which is "milk sugar" and is unfermentable; I added it to provide just a bit of residual sugar which I thought the acidic juice needed, and it also provides a creaminess in the mouthfeel--more body. So far, so good. The cider tastes really great.
b. I put the clear, aged cider into a tank and added yeast and priming sugar calculated at 2 volumes of CO2. That is for the low-end of "sparkling" which is called "petaillant" by the French.  So far, so good.
c. I tested the free sulfite and added just a touch, to get up to 45ppm, which was perfect for the cider's pH. This is what winemakers do, and for cider it is controversial: A few cidermakers sulfite their ciders, as it gives them more shelf-life (more microbial stability); in my defense, commercial yeasts can handle up to 50ppm sulfite, so I thought it would be OK. But most cidermakers do not sulfite before bottling. Here's why:
d. Steve Bader (owns wine/beer shop of that name; great guy and a great scholarly resource, and he runs an expertly-staffed and equipped shop) told me that the sulfite will scavenge all the O2 that's in the headspace. That was new to me and is an issue, because (as every winemaker and cidermaker should know) the yeast goes through two phases: first (the lag phase), the yeast multiply until they reach a density that satisfies them; and then (the fermentation phase) they start to convert sugar to ethyl alcohol, CO2, heat, and other byproducts (including sulfite, which is a natural component of any fermentation). If the free sulfite in the cider uses up the O2 in the headspace (under the crown cap), then the yeast can't multiply, and I'm not sure if they will then give up trying to multiply and start fermenting in tiny numbers? I think that is what happened, because when you open one of these ciders, it makes a faint hiss, and that is the CO2 escaping, and there are very faint and few bubbles rising in the liquid in your glass. I added enough priming sugar that there should be more hiss and more bubbles in the cider.
e. I waited 6 months before trying and selling the cider. Maybe if I wait longer, the few yeast in each bottle will finally make more CO2 and raise the carbonation level. BUT, apple cider has a shelf life and if it takes ?2? ?5? more years to finally get carbonated, the fruit flavor might be faded.
f. Another thing I think I did wrong is that I filled each bottle pretty full, leaving about 0.5" headspace (as we winemakers are supposed to do). I now know that some cidermakers leave 1.5" headspace, which gives more O2 to the yeast. As Steve noted, the O2 in the headspace doesn't raise spoilage issue because the yeast will use it up (during their lag phase) and then the headspace will be only CO2 after the in-bottle fermentation, which is a good preservative.

Dogged. So, for a month I've been reading about this, and thinking about what to do. Now, I'm working an experiment on my cider. This is what I just did to a 4-case test batch; I'll open a test bottle in about late July, to see if I have more carbonation  then:

1. Open the bottles up and pour into carboys, leaving 20% of the inside carboy volume empty for lots of O2 space; cover with towel to allow more O2 to enter. Then I didn't want to rinse, wash, sulfite each bottle, so I stuck the empty bottles in the winery refrigerator, at 33F, thinking that would keep them "bugless."

2. Add more charging sugar in the carboys, calculated to raise the desired CO2 volume from 2 to 3.8 (4 volumes of CO2 is about the upper limit for in-bottle carbonation in a beer bottle). I was too cautious at 2 volumes.

3. Add K1V-1116 - the "killer yeast" (I used the workhorse EC-1118 yeast last time. I also added yeast nutrient; the yeast can't function well (or at all) if they don't have enough food. Well-cleared cider doesn't provide much nutrient to yeast.

4. Stir vigorously; lots of splashing.

5. Wait 24 hours with towel over carboy neck to allow O2 entry; then put on a ferm lock and test for evidence of renewed ferm.

6. This morning, each carboy was showing slight ferm, after about 16 hours (bubbling about every 40 seconds LOL). That was progress! I think it was so slight because that's not much sugar--not like the original ferm, and also because the yeast's lag phase is slower when I use a carboy, compared to using an open primary fermentation tank. I could've used a tank but that's more work and with lots of headspace in the carboy I thought I had this issue covered.

7. Re-bottle (with 1.5" headspace) and cap. I've learned to be very cautious and slow while capping, so that I can gently press down hard and get a tight seal, but without snapping off the bottle's neck. 

If this re-done batch gives me good carb in-bottle, then I'll be pretty excited and will probably enter it in some competitions, because the taste is so good. We will know by late July maybe.  If this works, I have about 12 more cases I can do the same to. THAT is the crazy part--opening a bottled cider and doing all this to it. It's more about learning, and maybe pride, than anything. It is not common at all to do this once you've closed a bottle. But, dogged.

Taste-testing is a great benefit of winemaking: Epona 2018 Syrah-Malbec notes

...because you get to observe how a wine changes over time, even before it's released to the market.

The Syrah in this wine came from the Graves Vineyard, which is the southern-most in the state of Washington (Dallesport WA), near the Columbia River, and it's also one of the oldest. Planted by Mr. Graves, a BPA employee, a very long time ago (1970s?) and now tended by his son. The Malbec came from Noble Wolf Vineyard east of Lyle WA. Both grapes were fully ripe and in excellent shape; I picked them up in early morning and by noon was processing them on the Epona crush pad. Super-fresh treatment with high-touch winemaking all the way.

1. Youth: I'm learning why Syrahs (and Malbecs, too) need years of aging before they show their best. Some Syrahs don't come to market until they are 6-7 years old! This wine, upon opening is mostly shut down. The nose is faint and the palate is clunky, showing some nice red/blue fruits but with a sense of disjointedness and a bitter finish note.  An hour later, the nose is showing now--complex and awakening: Red/blue/purple/black fruits (yes-all of those, and I dare you to disagree), and herbs, and medicinals, in that order. On the palate, the wine is thick (good body) and acidic (good for food), with purple fruits and a coffee finish.
2. Then I put the leftover half-bottle of the wine into the fridge for four days. Sounds too long, right? But I suspected the wine was very, very early in its development, and 4 days on air provided a good test for what it might become.
3. Then, the wine was really good: The nose predicts ripe red/purple/black fruits with bolstering acidity and matching fairly high alcohol, and you can even smell the thick body too. In the mouth, it's very nice: rich, thick, but acidic too, with wonderful complex fruit and herb notes, and a nice finish.

I will definitely submit this one in competition, but not for another couple of years. Big hopes for this one! But patience is required. I plan to offer it next week, in order to get the hivemind's comments, and then either sell the rest, or hang onto it, as appropriate. One great thing about having a SUPERB wine buying club, is that you can access a wealth of great wine palates, in order to get the correct skinny on a wine and what to plan re that wine...

A really great French (Provencal) Rose: Jean-Luc Colombo 2018 "La Dame du Rouet" (Aix-en-Provence, Southern Rhone, France)

This was exceptional! A group of us circled our cars, in a lately-very-empty parking lot, and sat on quilts to eat take out from Rallys Pizza tonight, on a sunny sunsetting day in May. How to socialize in the Era of Corona. What good friends!

What a pleasure this wine was! Strawberries and watermelon, but the fruit was restrained. Minerals, but also restrained. What was more prominent was the acidity, yet it was pleasant, and it provided the frame on which to hang the various other enjoyments. Many American winemakers (like me) try to make Statement Wines, and the French sometimes do, but what they're really skilled at is making wines that know how to accompany food without getting in the way. This wine is a perfect example.

4 and a half stars on Vivino, with this comment: "Best Rosé I've ever tasted. Dry and fruity."

OK. Works for me.

2018 Bordeaux - a perplexing vintage that just might be the best since '82 and '59?

Fascinating. What do you think when you know (1) the 2018 Bordeaux wines are high-alcohol, high-tannin, and low-acid, from a "hellish" vintage (meaning stark contrasts of too cold/wet and too hot); but (2) the critics say the wines don't taste that way at all, and are magnificent, perhaps on par with '82 and '59? I confess I can't make much sense of it unless #2 is pure marketing lies, which is very unlikely given the fine reputations of the critics. But this points up the complexities of appreciating fine wines. Wine chemistry is amazingly complicated.

This is an email to me from Philip Bohorfoush:

The 2018 Bordeaux en primeur has begun and the vintage is receiving tremendous accolades.  James Suckling calls the 2018 “an exceptional vintage” and Antonio Galloni comments “the best 2018s are positively stunning.”  2018 is a dark fruited vintage with intense, concentrated fruit, great freshness, and significant tannins.

James Suckling

• “Most people agree that it is a great year and can be compared in quality to recent excellent years such as 2016 and 2015. I think it could turn out to be an all-time great, similar to 2010, 2009 and 1989 or even such classics as 1982 or 1959.”

The finest wines are beginning to release.  I have included a table below with our top choices and their scores from James Suckling, The Wine Advocate, and Antonio Galloni. 

If you would like me to make sure you see the new releases first including first tranche pricing, please let me know.  Also, please feel free to reply with your wish list for ease. 

Many thanks!
Philip

James Suckling: 2018 Bordeaux – An exceptional vintage

• It is a unique vintage for Bordeaux not only because of its hellish grape growing season but because it created wonderful wines with a beautiful depth of ripe fruit and polished, strong tannins. These wines have an impressive underlying freshness despite one of the warmest and driest late summers and harvests on record.”
• The majority of the 2018 reds in my tastings were beautifully structured with ripe fruit and potent tannins, yet there is an impressive drinkability to them, which is a great sign of quality.
• I remember the first vintage I tasted from barrel as a young wine critic in Bordeaux – the legendary 1982 – and the wines were so good to taste from barrel that I drank some for lunch with the likes of Alexis Lichine, Hughes Lawton, Daniel Lawton, and Anthony Barton. In fact, I drank some 2018 L’Évangile with lunch last week!”

Antonio Galloni: 2018 Bordeaux – Back in Black

• “As for the wines, the best 2018s are positively stunning. I don’t see the consistency of 2016, for example, but 2018 offers a tremendous amount of choice for the consumer, from everyday gems to the rarest of collectibles.
• One of the most fascinating aspects of the 2018s is that, with a few exceptions, the wines do not taste at all like what the analyses look like on paper. The numbers show wines with high alcohol, off the chart tannin and, in most cases, low acidities. It may seem hard to believe, but the wines don’t taste like that all.
• The best 2018s are aromatically intense, deep, dark wines that beautifully marry fruit intensity with structure.
• The intense ripeness of 2018 notwithstanding, there is a very clear and conscious move to harvest earlier than in the past, which is resulting in wines of greater freshness. Extractions are generally gentler, while the impact of new oak has come down markedly in many wines. Terra cotta amphoras, casks and other fermentation/aging vessels that are not traditional in Bordeaux are present in an ever-growing number of cellars. I am seeing an increase in trials with whole clusters in fermentation, another technique that is not at all common here.

Saint-Estèphe

Saint-Estèphe is one of the unquestioned overachievers in 2018, the best and most consistent vintage here since 2014. So many wines are brilliant. Cos d’Estournel and Calon Ségur, in particular, are extraordinary. Montrose and Lafon-Rochet aren’t too far behind.

Pauillac

Pichon-Comtesse, Pontet-Canet and Latour are the most exciting wines in 2018, while Grand Puy Lacoste, Pichon Baron and Lynch Bages are just behind.

Saint-Julien

Saint-Julien is another star in 2018. Granted, the appellation is small, quality is often fairly homogenous. Nevertheless, I was deeply impressed with what I tasted. Léoville Las Cases and Ducru-Beaucaillou are off the charts

Margaux

Margaux is arguably the appellation on the Left Bank with the widest separation of quality and style of wines. Yields were especially impacted at properties that farm biodynamically. Rauzan-Ségla, Palmer and Durfort-Vivens all boast off the chart unctuousness and concentration, while wines like Giscours, Cantenac-Brown and Brane-Cantenac are more gently shaped by the growing season. Château Margaux turned out a brilliant performance across all three of their wines.

Pessac-Léognan

Pessac-Léognan is one of the most variable appellations in 2018. Among the reds, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Domaine de Chevalier, Haut Bailly, Pape Clément, Malartic Lagravière and Haut Nouchet are among the highlights. Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion are less exciting than they usually are, while Smith Haut-Lafitte (Rouge) was not well put together on both occasions I saw it.

Pomerol

Pomerol is one of the real sweet spots in 2018. Petrus has never been so sensual, inviting and arrestingly beautiful from barrel. Lafleur is utterly magnificent, as are Trotanoy, La Fleur-Pétrus, La Conseillante and many others. Vieux Château Certan is deeply intriguing for many reasons, including the high percentage of Cabernet Franc relative to the recent past, but it remains a somewhat enigmatic wine at this stage.”

Saint-Émilion

Moreover, the stylistic shift under way to make wines with more freshness and energy than in the past is heavily centered around Saint-Émilion. Specifically, I am thinking about Troplong-Mondot, Canon and Beauséjour Bécot, Figeac, Millery and Le Prieuré are all wines that emphasize finesse over power. Experiments with large casks at Angélus are fascinating and yet another example of how much things are in a state of evolution in Bordeaux.  Cheval Blanc is another star…the 2018 Cheval is sensual, creamy and incredibly inviting.”

2018 Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais Nouveau!

Embaraassed to say that it's been a long, long time since I drank a Beaujolais Nouveau (made from the Gamay grape in Beaujolais, which sits south of Burgundy and north of the Rhone). The Nouveau is made quickly and sold in late November. It's meant to be drunk young, and slightly chilled.

Why I love this wine:

It's got great purple fruits, to go with its lively purple robe (color). Zesty attack. The fruit notes are much more forward than most European wines, and my New World palate loves that. The grape notes are "grapey," which is unusual in most fine wines ("grapeiness" is usually found in Vitis labrusca species of grape, and Concord (think Welch's grape jelly) is the best example of labrusca). But it works here. There is also a lot of acid (the wine is ridiculously young), but that works as well. Gamay is a great grape that not many winelovers take seriously, but they should. Even in the Willamette Valley, you see Pinot growers plant Syrah as the climate warms--but they skipped over Gamay!

We're going to have this wine tonight with a casserole of potatoes, onion, garlic, in cream and lots of pepper and allspice, and with sardines and anchovies. That is one of several types of preferred dishes with this wine. Can't wait!

My price to sell it was just $15; it has wonderful quality for that price.

It doesn't hurt that this Nouveau was made by Joseph Drouhin, a world-reknowned Burgundy family (Pinot Noir; Chardonnay). But what a great wine, and what a great wine style! I encourage you to buy them. They are only available in November, through pre-order in August or September.

Making Noble Wolf Malbec!

403 lbs of gorgeous Malbec grapes from Adolfo's "Noble Wolf" vineyard near Dallesport WA (high in the mountains above the Columbia River--about 1000' I think). 23 Brix; pH 3.2. Fantastic boysenberry jam flavor. Well-tended vines (a really pretty site, actually). Lucky to have sourced this fruit.

"Mal bec" in French means "bad mouth," meaning the wine tastes green when young. Right now, the juice is pure and rich, with great body and deep flavor, with no greenness, but that may come soon. The secret to good Malbec appears to be aging the wine for a long time, which lets the wine soften and mature into its final richness. Will do.

THANK YOU to Andrew who helped me crush this fruit in very high heat (for so late in September).