We continue with a series that presents two great wines that I tasted within the last three months — April, May and June for this post — but didn’t get an opportunity to write about.

These wines were samples for review.
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The “regular” bottling of Renaissance Winery’s Roussanne 2006 was released early in 2009. A year later came the wine under review today, the Renaissance “Vin de Terroir” Roussanne 2006. The winery lies in the North Yuba appellation of the Sierra Foothills region, about 70 miles north of Sacramento. Gideon Beinstock is a thoughtful and careful winemaker who keeps alcohol levels low and new oak at a minimum. The Renaissance “Vin de Terroir” Roussanne 2006 spent two years and eight months in bottle before release. The wine was fermented in stainless steel with natural yeasts and aged nine months in new and one- and two-year old barrels. Just pulling the cork unleashes scents of pears and roasted lemons into the room; the bouquet wafts like fragile tissues of apple, ginger and quince, bee’s-wax and camellia woven together, while a few minutes in the glass bring out hints of orange water and rose petals. Bear in mind that nothing bold or flamboyant mars the delicacy of these sensations. This wine is more spare and more elegant than its young cousin, the Renaissance Roussanne 06; the present “Vin de Terroir” version, though lush enough to be almost viscous, almost oily, is nonetheless very dry, lithe and supple, even austere, providing a gratifying paradoxical nature that balances richness with clean, crisp acidity and a burgeoning limestone element. Flavors of peaches and pears macerated in cloves and allspice unfold before a tide of wood that’s close to ecclesiastical in its dry, dusty, slightly smoky character (but not toasty or charcoal-y; this is not a new oak thing). In its integrity and individual nature, the Renaissance “Vin de Terroir” Roussanne 2006 is an exotic masterpiece. 13 percent alcohol. The rub? Beinstock made all of 63 cases of this wine. Excellent. About $45.
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The related wineries Far Niente (founded in 1979), Dolce (1985) and Nickel & Nickel (1997) have been joined by a new affiliate, En Route, dedicated to making pinot noir in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. The first vintage was 2007. Winemaker is Andrew Delos; director of winemaking for the group is Dirk Hampson. Grapes for En Route “Les Pommiers” Pinot Noir 2008, Russian River Valley, derive from two vineyards at different locations in Russian River with a touch of grapes from Sonoma Coast. The wine ages 11 months in French oak, 55 percent new barrels. This is — what’s the word I’m looking for? — gorgeous, but thinking about the case for a few seconds, I hesitate to use “gorgeous” because it implies a quality of blatancy that the wine does not evince. It is, instead — what’s the word I’m looking for? — ethereal or evanescent or beguiling. The hue is moderate cherry-magenta with a slight blue cast, like the color of lipstick that men associate with danger. Aromas of black and red cherries are wreathed with dried cranberries, cloves and cinnamon, while in the mouth, flavors of black cherries, currants and plums nestle in a super-sexy, smooth satiny texture that’s seductive without being heavy or obvious. Traces of smoke, truffles and moss comprise a species of ripe earthiness that deepens the wine into layers of spicy oak and a hint of slate-like minerality. Really just incredibly lovely. Production was 1,993 cases. 14.8 percent alcohol, which might make the tail-end of the finish a trifle hot, but essentially the wine is superbly balanced and integrated. Excellent. About $50.
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Earlier this week, I had Jamie Oliver’s Parsnip and Ginger Soup and Coda alla Vaccinara (Roman Oxtail Stew) ready for LL after her teaching night; she gets home about 8:45 or 9. The soup is from Jamie’s Food Revolution (Hyperion, $35); the oxtail stew is from the April issue of Saveur, and can be found here. While both dishes require some chopping and mincing, once you’ve done that, they’re easy.

Oliver’s book is subtitled “Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals.” Recipes are simple but inflected with the chef’s habitual enthusiasm. The soup truly is delicious, smooth and earthy, but needed more gingery flavors. Oliver calls for “a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger root,” and I guess that thumbs come in different sizes.

The triumph was the Coda alla Vaccinara, a superbly rich and flavorful rendition of oxtail stew in an intense tomato sauce that simmers for about three hours, the last 40 minutes or so with stalks of celery that turn meltingly tender. This is the dish that requires a lot of mincing: pancetta or guanciale, onion, celery, carrots, garlic. After you brown the oxtails, which are cut into small sections, and remove them from the pan, you soften all the minced stuff in the remaining, highly flavored olive oil, add red wine and cook until it evaporates — this process adds to the intensity — and then put the oxtails back in the pan with the contents of a large can of tomatoes (squashed by hand) and some water. Cover the pan and go about your business for two hours. Then, for the last 45 minutes to an hour, with the celery stalks, you leave the lid off the pan, so the sauce reduces and the flavors and texture become concentrated. Altogether, it cooks about three hours. Yeah, this is a great dish, and the sauce alone would be fabulous with pasta. In fact, I prepared the recipe for four people, so I think when it’s time to hit the leftovers, I’ll scrape the meat from the bones and serve meat and sauce with penne or farfalle.

I know that I should have served an Italian red wine with the oxtails, but the only Italian reds I have on hand are some Barolos and Barbarescos from 2005, and I’m not touching those for five years. Instead, I turned to the Loire Valley, cabernet franc and the Clos Cristal Hospices de Saumur 2008, from the Saumur-Champigny region. Along this stretch of France’s longest river, the appellations of Anjou, Saumur, Bourgueil and Chinon all cultivate the cabernet franc grape, known in these areas as côt. Unlike in Bordeaux, where cabernet franc is an integral factor among other grapes in the red wines, in the Loire cabernet franc is not blended with other grapes.

Since 1928, profits from the Clos Cristal Hospices de Saumur wines have benefited a local children’s hospital.

The first impression is of a smoky, dusty, earthy wine that faintly emits hints of black currants and black cherries; a few minutes in the glass bring out touches of cedar and tobacco, powdered shale, and more deeply spiced and macerated black fruit. Dusty, graphite-laced tannins deliver not a little austerity for the first few hours the wine is open, though the next morning the wine had smoothed out beautifully, revealing lovely balance and tone– and more smoke and a whiff of black olive — though retaining a tight grip on vibrant acidity and a spare, reticent character. A textbook model of Loire Valley cabernet franc that could be a bit less unbending. I recommend opening the wine three or four hours before serving. Drink now through 2016 or ’18. Very Good+. About $20 to $25.

A Bourgeois Family Selection, Asheville, N.C. A sample for review, but not from the importer.
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So last night, we did use the rest of the oxtail stew for a pasta sauce, first carving and scraping all the tiny shards and shreds of meat from the chunky little bones. This was such a rich, hearty and deeply flavorful sauce that we didn’t even grate any Parmesan cheese; it would have been superfluous.

For wine, I opened the Grgich Hills Estate Zinfandel 2007, Napa Valley, made from a biodynamic vineyard certified by Demeter (if that means anything to you and if you care). The year saw much less rainfall than normal, so yields were reduced and grapes were smaller, a factor reflected in this wine’s intensity and concentration. What’s interesting is that in contrast to the ideal (or delusion) of heavily extracted zinfandels in California, this zinfandel offers a lovely medium ruby color rather than the dark purple nigh unto black that we so often see. (Remember, the opaque darkness of the color of a red wine has nothing to do with its quality.) This zinfandel is very spicy and peppery, bursting with notes of blackberry and blackcurrant with a back-tone of strawberry. Dusty, velvety tannins are palatable but firm, while the oak influence — 15 months in large French casks (no new small barrels) –contributes subtle shape and suppleness. Layers of briers and brambles, a distinct mossy/foresty element add complexity to the ripe black fruit flavors, which include hints of mulberry and boysenberry, and the wine finishes with a filigree of wild fruit and exotic spice. Alcohol content is 14.9%. A model zinfandel made in a thankfully non-exaggerated manner. Drink now through 2014 to ’15. Excellent. About $35.

A sample for review.
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If I can keep up with such matters as when quarters of the year start and end, I’ll launch this “Two Great Wines” as a new feature on BTYH. The idea is that in the first three months of 2010 — or the end of each three-month period — these are the best wines, or, to be fair, really great wines, one red and one white, that I have tasted but not yet written about or reviewed.
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The august Burgundian firm of Joseph Drouhin owns 1.4 hectares (3.598 acres) of the Chablis Grand Cru vineyard Vaudésir; the total is about 36 acres. Drouhin, headquartered in Beaune, Burgundy’s iconic medieval city, at least the well-preserved center, maintains its own facility in Chablis. The chardonnay grapes are pressed there and the must immediately transported to Beaune, where it is fermented, and then the wine is placed in mostly older oak barrels to age eight or nine months.

The Joseph Drouhin Chablis-Vaudésir Grand Cru 2007 is incredibly intense and concentrated yet generous and expansive; part of the thrill of drinking this wine — and it’s distinctly a thrill — lies in that slight sense of tension and exuberance in the presentation and resolution of these opposite tendencies. Aromas of white peach, tangerine, camellia and honeysuckle seduce the nose; in a moment come drifts of roasted lemon and lemon curd, and, under all this, penetrating scents of gunflint and damp shale for a bracing effect. The texture is such stuff as dreams are made on, a seamless marriage of cloud-like, dusty, talc-y roundness and electrifying acidity, bright as a star, taut as a wire. Flavors of roasted lemon and lime peel are deeply imbued with dried baking spice and a hint of some foresty, leafy element; the finish, which is dry and brings up limestone and earth, is long and satisfying. We drank this with seared swordfish that had been marinated in soy sauce, mirin, lime juice, garlic and fresh ginger. 130 six-bottle cases imported. Drink now through 2015 or ’17. Exceptional. About $72. I didn’t say that these wines were cheap or widely available, just that they’re great.

Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., New York. A sample for review.
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The Oakville Ranch Robert’s Blend is close enough to being the best cabernet franc wine made in California that the others should just line up behind it. For 2005, the Robert’s Blend contains 90 percent cabernet franc and 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. After tasting so many over-oaked Barbera wines in Piedmont a couple of weeks ago and coming home to racks of over-oaked chardonnays and cabernet sauvignons from California, it was a relief to perceive how carefully Ashley Heisey, winemaker at Oakville Ranch, managed the oak in this effort. While the wine spent 18 months in French barrels, 50 percent new, the oak is completely integrated into the structure, just as that structure is completely integrated with the fruit.

As a cabernet franc wine that tips a hat to the Loire Valley tradition, the Oakville Ranch Robert’s Blend 2005, Napa Valley, teems with scents of black currant and blueberry with undertones of black olive, dried thyme, a hint of blackberry jam — revealing a toehold in the Golden State, and that’s just fine — and a whiff of damp, dusty slate-like minerality. Pretty heady stuff, all right, but grounded in the sober earthiness of the winery’s hillside property where vineyards rise to 1,400 feet. The wine is invigorated by smooth, supple tannins and lithe acidity; juicy black fruit flavors are wrapped around a deep core of smoke and bitter chocolate. The tannins assert themselves more insistently in the finish, bringing in a grown-up note of spareness and austerity. A suave performance and not what one usually thinks of as a pizza wine, but that’s how we employed it, with immense pleasure. Production was 393 six-bottle cases. Drink now through 2014 or ’15. Excellent. About $90.

A sample for review.
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Previously in this saga, I related the story of buying three bottles of wine at a silent auction to benefit a non-profit dog and cat spay and neuter group, thinking I was boosting the bidding but ending up purchasing the wine to the tune of $245. Almost immediately, we opened one bottle for dinner, and it tuirned out to be wonderful. This was the Cakebread Cellars Merlot 2002, Napa Valley.

Next, I opened Napa Valley wine, the Hartwell Misté Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Stags Leap District. We drank with my last excellent pizza — I mean the last pizza I made that was excellent; the next one was a (rare) dismal failure –and it was terrific.

The winery was founded in 1986 by Bob Hartwell, a veteran of the aerospace industry, and his wife Blanca. The first wine they produced was a cabernet from 1990 that spent 22 months in all-new French oak, giving you some idea of the seriousness of the enterprise.

The Hartwell Misté Hill Cabernet 2003 is no longer on the winery’s website, and retailers that carry it on the internet don’t describe the blend, but based on later bottlings the 2003 must be primarily cabernet sauvignon with some merlot and a dollop of petit verdot put through considerable oak. This is a grand effort, a wine that’s deep and broad and generous, dense, intense and concentrated. The color is dark ruby-purple through and through. Classic notes of cassis, cedar, dust, black pepper and crushed gravel define the seductive nose, while in the mouth the wine is succulent, almost plush, yet tempered and cooled by clean acidity and a towering mineral element. Flavors of ripe, spicy and slightly macerated black cherries and black currants are supported by sleek tannins and oak surprisingly unobtrusive for the usual Hartwell barrel treatment. Altogether, the wine is both engaging and dynamic, elegant and profound, a sort of amalgam of personality and character, and it should drink beautifully until 2015 or ’16. Excellent. The suggested retail price for this wine was about $60, which is what I paid for it at the silent auction, but it’s available on the internet from prices ranging from $42 to $72.

Next in the roster of three silent auction purchases: Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 1998, Alexander Valley.

Founded in 1978, Renaissance Vineyard & Winery turns out unfortunately minute qualities of Bordeaux- and Rhone-style wines that are sterling examples of individuality, integrity, restraint and frankly old-fashioned appeal. Old-Fashioned? Winemaker Gideon Beinstock uses minimal new oak and keeps alcohol levels low, as in generally between 12 and 14 percent. No commercial yeasts are employed and red wines are neither fined nor filtered; the vineyard now is completely organic. He also holds some of the cabernet sauvignon wines for extraordinary lengths of time before releasing them, as in 12 years for the Premier Cuvée cabernets. The winery is in Oregon House, about 70 miles north of Sacramento, in the North Yuba region of the Sierra Foothills; the vineyards lie at elevations of 1,700 to 2,300 feet. If you’re looking for wines that embody the antithesis of the over-ripe, over-oaked, high-alcohol fruit bombs still fashionable today, you need to search for the wines of Renaissance.

We’ll look today at Renaissance cabernets released in 2008 and 2009 (and one white wine after them). These were samples submitted for review.
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The blend in the Renaissance Premier Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon 1996, North Yuba, Sierra Foothills, is 77 percent cabernet sauvignon, 12 percent merlot, 11 percent cabernet franc; the alcohol level is an eminently sane 12.6 percent. This smooth, mellow but rigorously structured cabernet opens with classic and seductive scents of black pepper, licorice, black cherry and cedar. The wine spent two years in — you have to admire this forthright expression — “old oak barrels,” of German, French and American origin, so the effect of the wood is engaging shapeliness and suppleness, while grenadier-like acidity keeps a keen eye on appealing vibrancy and vitality. In the mouth, flavors of plums and dried red and black currants are packed with potpourri and dried spice and a hint of an earthy, granite-like minerality that expands into the slightly austere finish. 380 cases produced. Now through 2016 to ’18. Excellent. About $45.
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The Renaissance Claret Prestige 1996, North Yuba, Sierra Foothills, is composed of less cabernet sauvignon (63%) than the Premier Cuvée ’96, more merlot (25%) and almost the same amount of cabernet franc (12%). Oak aging — 23 months — is a smidgeon shorter. Alcohol is also 12.6 percent. The color is radiant medium to dark ruby with a tinge of light brick-red at the rim. The bouquet is rich and ripe with currants and plums, roasted and fleshy, displaying touches of ground walnuts and walnut shell. Dense, dusty, chewy tannins along with a tremendous backbone of acidity lend the wine plenty of structure, while mossy, forest-floor-like elements provide support of flavors of macerated red and black currants and black cherries freighted with what seems like all the savory dried spices in your cabinet. 390 cases. A great achievement for drinking from 2011 through 2016 to ’18. Excellent. About $40.
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The Renaissance Library Release Cabernet Sauvignon 1995, North Yuba, Sierra Foothills, was originally issued in September 1999 and then re-released in May 2009.The blend is a fairly straightforward 86 percent cabernet sauvignon and 14 percent merlot, but there’s nothing ordinary about the wine. The color is deep brick-red with a hint of garnet at the rim. Swirl the glass and take a sniff; the rich, warm bouquet is saturated with spice and dried flowers and black currants, cherries and plums seemingly macerated for a lifetime in spiced brandy. Solid, dusty and slightly gritty tannins give some indication as to the motivation for putting this wine on the market again; a decade ago it must have been formidable, and indeed from mid-palate back through the finish, this cabernet picks up dry underbrushy austerity. Best from 2012 through 2015 to ’20. How great this would be with a roasted game bird, though I typically drank a couple of glasses with a particularly hearty cheese toast. Excellent. About $50.
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Released in May 2009 in a quantity of 830 cases — you understand that’s a huge production for this winery — the Renaissance Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, North Yuba, Sierra Foothills, is a blend of 75 percent cabernet sauvignon, 22 percent merlot and 3 percent cabernet franc and syrah. Aging was up to 18 months in used French, German and American oak barrels; the alcohol level is 13.6 percent. The wine is ravishing. The clean, fresh, perfectly defined bouquet offers spiced and macerated black currants, mulberries and blueberries wreathed with smoke, cedar and tobacco and an edge of dusty, flinty minerality. In the mouth, this cabernet is smooth and mellow but no wimp; as usual with the red wines of Renaissance, the dimensionality of dense, dusty tannins dominates but does not overwhelm the rich warmth of wonderfully proportioned red and black fruit flavors that seem slightly fleshy and feral, with a fillip of wild berry. Best from 2012 or ’14 through 2018 or ’20. Excellent. About $45.
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Here’s a note on a white wine from Renaissance that I tasted back in the Summer but neglected to write about.

The Renaissance Carte d’Or 2008, Sierra Foothills, is a blend of 70 percent semillon and 30 percent sauvignon blanc, aged six months in “neutral German oak ovals,” meaning large old German barrels. Few white wines made in California smell or taste like this one. The color is medium gold with a faint green highlight. Aromas of roasted lemon, lemon balm, dried rosemary and thyme with that dried herbal dustiness, smoke and pine resin dominate the nose; the wine is very spicy and lively in the mouth, very dry, quite austere with a tremendous foundation of limestone and chalk minerality under notes of fig, gooseberry and lemon and lime peel all enfolded in the sort of sunny leafiness I expect from dry semillon. Wow, quite a performance and probably capable of aging through 2012. Try with seared trout or swordfish. Excellent. About $20, which would be a Bargain of the Century except that Beinstock made only 58 cases.

With your indulgence, I’ll append my review of this wine in its manifestation of 2007, so you can see the differences that vintages and proportions make, and notice how much more of the wine Beinstock made in ’07:

LL called the Renaissance Carte d’Or 2007 “a gift to vegetarians,” and indeed the wine’s striking fruity, herbal nature would make it appropriate for all sorts of vegetable-based dishes, including risottos (which don’t have to be made with chicken broth) and pastas. The wine is a blend of 60 percent semillon grapes and 40 percent sauvignon blanc that ages six months in neutral German oak ovals. It opens with herbal-grassy scents with touches of apples and figs and smoky dried pear. Carte d’Or ‘07 is very dry, spare, clean, crisp and tart without being citrusy (read: no grapefruit), and it brings up hints of celery, ginger and melon, a bit of riesling-like honeyed peach, a wafting of jasmine. Don’t mistake this for an aperitif wine; it’s too serious, too thoughtful for that blithe purpose. Drink through the end of 2009. Production is 258 cases. Excellent. About $20.

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I mentioned in a previous post that I bought three bottles of wine at a fundraiser silent auction, thinking I was merely helping to boost the bidding for a worthy cause, but ended up buying the wines. Lucky me.

Well, it turns out that at least with the first wine we opened, we were lucky.

A few nights ago, we took the Cakebread Cellars Merlot 2002, Napa Valley, to Bari, one of our favorite restaurants in town, where we had, as usual, a simple and wonderful Italian meal. While we had glasses of the Costamolino Vermentino di Sardegna with the first courses — sauteed calamari with tomatoes, garlic and black olives; grilled octopus with grapefruit and red onion — the Cakebread Merlot ’02 stood sentinel-like on the table, waiting silently to perform; I mean, I wish I possessed an iota or two of this wine’s confidence and aplomb. LL ordered pork osso buco for the main course and I elected to have the spaghetti carbonara.

The wine was made by Julianne Laks, who had been assistant winemaker under Bruce Cakebread until he became the winery’s president in 2002, succeeding his father Jack Cakebread, who retired that year, so ’02 was the first vintage Laks had complete control over. Cakebread Merlot ’02 includes 7 percent cabernet sauvignon. The grapes are 42 percent Carneros and 58 percent “mid-valley,” which one assumes means Rutherford, where the winery is located. The wine aged 18 months in French oak, 45 percent new. The alcohol level is 14.9 percent.

The Cakebread Merlot 2002 sports a dark, radiant ruby-purple color, a bit inky at the center. The bouquet is a beguiling, almost delirious weaving of cassis, black cherry, dusty lavender, dried thyme and crushed gravel, with a hint of black olive. At a few months more than seven years old, the wine is poised on the cusp of youthful, brooding intensity and wildness — there’s something almost feral about it — and serene equilibrium and elegance. Black fruit flavors are rich, ripe and intense, though tempered by polished oak, subtle and supple, and dense, pervasive tannins. Here’s a merlot that gives the lie to every bland, generic merlot you’re had from California; the Cakebread ’02 embodies wonderful presence, tone and character, and if you have any in your cellar or closet or that box under your bed, you’re a lucky duck. A great experience. Best from 2011 or ’12 through 2015 or ’16. Remember, I bid on this at a silent auction for a nonprofit organization, so I think I paid a generous $75. Not bad, actually, considering the prices of Cakebread wines nowadays.

LL teaches on Tuesday nights in the Spring semester, so dinner duty falls to me. It’s a good opportunity to try new dishes, some of which are all right — the green lentil curry was O.K. if you like hippie commune food circa 1968 — and several of which are keepers.

A definite keeper is the Pan-Roasted Chicken with Citrus Sauce, from the January issue of Food & Wine magazine. The recipe is a simplified version of the dish created by chef John Sedlar at Rivera in Los Angeles. According to the article, Sedlar uses “a range of citrus, including Cara Cara oranges, blood oranges and pomelos,” though “the dish is just as delicious with a simple mix of navel oranges and limes.” Blood oranges would have been good, but we don’t see them in markets here until late April. And, I’m here to tell you that segmenting a lime is about as easy as picking the white off rice. Even navel oranges don’t segment that easily; they tend to shred. Satsumas, on the other hand — Citrus unshia, formally speaking — peeled and separated easily and beautifully. They’re in the foreground on the accompanying image; the frowsy-looking navel segments are in back, hiding behind the chicken. As you can see, I served the dish with a little farfalle pasta, to soak up the
sauce.

Anyway, this is a terrific, intensely flavored dish, and LL heartily approved.

To drink with the Citrus Chicken, I opened a bottle of the Hugel & Fils Pinot Blanc Cuvée Les Amours 2006, from Alsace. Nothing mysterious or obscure here; Hugel’s Cuvée Les Amours Pinot Blanc is widely known and, in this house, admired. The 2006, with three years on it, delivers a muscat-like floral-oily musky-funkiness that immediately draws you, delicately yet inevitably, into its sensuous and slightly outré precincts. The wine is loaded with notes of roasted lemon and lemon curd, smoked orange rind and lime peel, cloves and ginger, all stretched upon taut strings of bright acidity that keep it fresh and vibrant. Just lovely, for drinking through 2011 or ’12, well-stored. Excellent and Great Value at about $17.

Imported by Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York.
A review sample.
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Last night’s Pasta alla Norma came from Jamie’s Italy (Hyperion, $34.95), a very engaging book by Jamie Oliver. This was a real winner on any scale of judgment or comparison. The preparation is pretty simple. You fry small skin-on slices of eggplant sprinkled with dried oregano in olive oil until golden brown — and I’m here to tell you that golden brown segues to black ‘n’ burned really quickly — then add some dried red chili, sliced garlic, finely chopped basil stems, a dollop of white vinegar — I used agrodolce — let that cook for a bit and then pour in a can of diced tomatoes and the juice. Give it 10 or 15 minutes to simmer and throw in some basil. Add the pasta and a little of the pasta water. Garnish with more basil, some grated pecorino and crumbles of salted ricotta. This was seriously great and intense, and I have a feeling that I’ll be cooking it fairly often.

Here I opened a bottle of the Easton Wines Zinfandel 2008, Amador County. What a classic of zinfandel purity and faceted completeness! The wine is rich and succulent, deeply spicy and flavorful yet restrained and balanced by a structure that’s stalwart and rugged without being rustic, dense and chewy without being ponderous. Black cherry and blackberry flavors, sporting an edge of molten mulberry, black pepper and crushed gravel, get earthier and fleshier, more briery and brambly with a few moments in the glass; you also feel the wood more, a slightly spicy, dark graininess, from 10 months in French oak. There’s plenty of substance here, a flirtation with black leather allure, but the wine is also clean and forthright, an eloquent and rather wild expression of the grape. Excellent and a Great Bargain at about $16.

A review sample.
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Every January, food magazines and newspaper food sections come out with stories about “new,” healthier, sustainable, non-grease-bomb snacks for nibbling while watching two Super Bowl football teams destroy each other in mud, blood and gore on large-screen televisions. But come on, guys, we all know what you’re going to be scarfing down: fiery-hot fried chicken wings with vats of blue cheese dressing; nachos dripping with melted cheese and sour cream studded with ground beef, refried beans and sliced jalapeno peppers; slabs of barbecue ribs slathered with spicy sauce; tortilla chips dipped into mouth-searing salsas; pigs-in-blankets, fer gawd’s sake!

In keeping with the kick-ass tradition of Super Bowl snack food, I offer a roster of kick-ass red wines that will nestle in there amongst your manliness and man the barricades of Guydom Snack Food.

Let’s start with the Penley Estate Hyland Shiraz 2006, Coonawarra, a smoking depth-charge of a wine that smells and tastes like roasted meat, bacon fat, wet dog, black pepper and intensely rich and ripe black and red currants and plums. To give you some idea of this wine’s bragging rights, we drank it last night with flank steak tacos; I slathered the meat with chili powder, chipotle powder, ground cumin, adobo seasoning (onion, garlic, pepper, Mexican oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper) and mapuche spice from Chile, a mixture of cacho de cabra chilies and coriander seeds, let it meditate on its worthiness for four hours and then seared it in a cast-iron skillet. Woo-hoo! The alcohol level is 15 percent, but you can handle it. Excellent. About $19 to $21.
Imported by Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, Cal.

Or to stay in the Antipodes, try the Kilikanoon Killerman’s Run Shiraz Grenache 2007, South Australia, a Platonic model of gravel-like minerality, smoke, gritty tannins and pumped-up black and red currants with a rooty, feral tang. Don’t let that touch of rose petals in the bouquet bother you. The blend is 67 percent shiraz, 33 percent grenache. Excellent. About $19 to $21.
Imported by Old Bridge Cellars, Napa Cal.

Also from the Southern Hemisphere, but from the opposite side of the wide Pacific, comes the Trapiche Broquel Bonarda 2006, made from 100 percent bonarda grapes grown in Argentina’s Mendoza region. This intriguing wine, which ages a year in new French and American oak, is dark, dry, spicy and a little exotic, a little black leathery; its compelling black and red cherry and black currant flavors wrap cozily around a core of sassafras and orange rind, smoked ancho chilies and bittersweet mocha with a poignant fillip of fresh cracked pepper. Zowie! Very Good+. About $16.
Imported by Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York.

Shifting briefly to Europe, we have the Cusumano Nero d’Avola 2007, from Sicily. Boy, this is one smoky, spicy, tarry, exotic and robust red wine for drinking with full-flavored, hearty food. Flavors of ripe red and black currants and plums are bolstered by cloves and bitter chocolate, by some rooty, earthy tea-like element, by notes of wild berry and slightly shaggy tannins. The wine is so engaging and lively that it practically vibrates in the glass. Very Good+, and a Great Bargain at $13 to $15.
Imported by Vin Divino, Chicago.

The rest of these, to set your patriotic minds at rest, were made in the U.S.A., that is, if you consider California part of the country.

“Robust” scarcely begins to describe the rustic, bumptious Seven Artisans Petite Sirah 2007, from California’s Suisun Valley. This is a dusty, dusky wine whose grainy tannic nature is matched blow by blow with ripe, juicy black fruit flavors and resonant acidity. Smoke and ash circulate in the depths, along with hints of lead pencil of granite-like intensity, dried porcini, crushed ancho chilies and a touch of dried cranberries. Potent and sort of charming in its muscularity. Very Good+ About $18.

No, bullshit, readers, the Turnbull “Old Bull” 2006, Oakville, Napa Valley, is as solid as a lineman’s biceps and as
supple as a quarterback’s thighs. It took a buffet of grapes to get the job done here — merlot (44%), tempranillo (18%), sangiovese (16%), cabernet sauvignon (9%), barbera (6%), cabernet franc (5%) and syrah (2%). The wine is packed with dusty tannins, dusty spice, dusty macerated black fruit and dusty minerals; yep, it’s a dusty wine, all right, which is a reflection of its profound earthy character and fathomless structure. The fruit holds up, though, and in addition to the wine’s emphasis on structure, it’s downright lip-smackin’ delicious. Very Good+. I paid $24 for this wine, but the suggested price is $20.

We drank the X Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Napa Valley, with pork chops smacked with chili powder and cumin, seared in olive oil with garlic, and then baked for about 10 minutes, so you understand its potential for standing up to a tray of chicken wings. Boy, this is one dense and chewy cabernet — with 10 percent merlot and 2 percent petit verdot — that flaunts intense and concentrated black currant and black cherry flavors permeated by smoky potpourri, cedar and tobacco, a woodsy, autumnal dried moss element and immense reserves of dusty tannins and gravel-like minerals. Lots of character for the price. 672 cases. Excellent. About $25.

The Real Bargain of these eight wines is the St. Francis Red 2006, Sonoma County, a blend of merlot (48%), cabernet sauvignon (28%), syrah (10%), zinfandel (3%) and the mysterious category of “mixed blacks” for 6%. There are truckloads of personality in this hearty, dark, boldly spiced and flavorful wine that partakes of fleshy roasted elements, macerated black currants, black cherries and plums and enough dusty, earthy tannins for whole pallets of wine. Nothing complicated here, but an engaging, slightly rock-ribbed quaff to buy by the case. Very Good+. About $10.

Except for the Turnbull “Old Bull” 2006, these were sample wines submitted for review.

Thanks to these sources of images:
Football: msg.com
Nachos: utopiankitchen.com
Barbecue ribs: bbq-ribs.com
Pigs in Blankets: girlofwords.com
Chicken wings: eldoradobbq.com

Founded in 1979 by brothers Jim and Steve Allen, Sequoia Grove just slips under our limit (of 1980) for Old School California wineries. Sequoia Grove occupies the site of a 19th Century property in what is now known as the Rutherford Bench. There, it owns its original 24-acre estate vineyard as well as the recently acquired 50-acre Tonella Vineyard, also in Rutherford, as well as property in Carneros. The winery focuses on cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay, though it produces cabernet franc, syrah and sauvignon blanc in limited quantities.

There is nothing flashy or flamboyant about wines from Sequoia Grove, which are notable for depth, complexity and reticence. You will notice that through the reviews of the two wines runs the common thread of tannin, because these are indeed tannic, earthy red wines that require considerable aging to become more approachable. Be that the case, one cannot help being impressed by their authenticity and integrity.

Director of winemaking operations at Sequoia Grove, Mike Trujillo, has been with the winery since 1982. Winemaker is Molly Hill. The Sequoia Grove Chardonnay 2007, Carneros, Napa Valley, made my recent “50 Great Wines of 2009.” Here’s the original review.

These wines were received as review samples.
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The Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Napa Valley, is 100 percent varietal. Fifty-six percent of the grapes derive from the winery’s estate vineyard, 12 percent from Oakville, and the rest from vineyards as far-flung as St. Helena in the north to Atlas Peak in the southeast. The wine is, in other words, an expression of Napa Valleyness, if such a thing is possible, rather than an embodiment of a more narrow sub-appellation.

The wine ages 18 months in American oak, 45 percent new barrels.

So, what do we have? A classic seductive bouquet of cedar, tobacco and lead pencil that cushions notes of briery black currants and black cherries with a background of walnut shell and dried porcini mushrooms. In the mouth, this is dense with grainy, chewy tannins and earthy, iron-like minerals, a panoply of dried baking spices and dusty potpourri, more walnut shell and dried porcini, underbrush and moss. The wine’s raison d’etre, in other words, seems to be structure — a noble, dignified structure — with glimmers of black fruit flavors patiently poised in the wings; there are intimations of generosity. Try from 2011 through 2015 to ’17. Very Good+ with Excellent Potential. About $34.
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The make-up of the Sequoia Grove Rutherford Bench Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Napa Valley, is 80 percent cabernet sauvignon, 10 percent merlot, 8 percent cabernet franc and 1 percent each petit verdot and malbec. The majority of the grapes comes from the winery’s estate vineyard in Rutherford. The oak treatment is different from that of the “regular” cabernet; the Rutherford Bench Reserve sees no American oak but ages 20 months in French oak, 48 percent new barrels.

This is a powerfully earthy, minerally cabernet, intense and concentrated and as deep as the alluvial soil that fans from the western mountains and provides the basis for many of California’s — and the world’s — greatest and most distinctive cabernet sauvignon wines. Sequoia Grove’s Rutherford Bench Reserve ’04 is monumental, a superb example of the balance and integration of acidity, oak and tannin, with tightly furled black currant and blackberry — the latter unusual in a cabernet — lurking in the fathoms. Give it a few minutes in the glass and hints of mocha, some mossy, root-like tea, licorice and black pepper emerge, over a seething element of smoldering potpourri. The finish is aloof, a little austere. The alcohol level is a fairly modest 14.4 percent. Best from 2011 or ’12 through 2018 to ’20. Excellent. About $75.
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When I went back through BTYH looking for great wine bargains for 2009, I was surprised at how many candidates there were. I mean, I taste a lot of bland, generic cheap wine year in and year out, but it was encouraging to realize how many wines priced between about $9 and $19 I really liked. So many that I quickly tallied a list of 63, which I then, of course, had to cut back to 25. Ouch, major surgery! I think the result is a very strong roster of wines that reflect authenticity, integrity and pure enjoyment with considerable personality and character thrown into the mix. And speaking of mix, this is an eclectic, geographically-challenging group of wines. Perhaps some of your favorites are here.
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25 Great Bargains of 2009

<>Ad Lib “Tree Hugger” No Oak Chardonnay 2008, Pemberton, Western Australia. Excellent. About $17. (Vintage New World)

<>Ad Lib Wallflower Riesling 2008, Mount Barker, Western Australia. Excellent. About $17. (Vintage New World)

<>Andeluna Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Tupungato, Mendoza. Excellent. About $10. (San Francisco Wine Exchange)

<>d’Arenberg The Stump Jump Verdelho 2008, McLaren Vale, South Australia. Very Good+. About $11. (Old Bridge Cellars)

<>Attems Pinot Grigio 2008, Collio, Friuli. Excellent. About $18-$20. (Folio Fine Wine Partners)

<>August Kesseler Riesling QbA 2007, Rheingau. Excellent. About $16. (August Kesseler Importing Co.)

<>Domaine Catherine Le Goeuil Cairanne “Cuvée Léa Felsh” 2006, Côtes-du-Rhône
Villages. Excellent. $15-$18. (Kermit Lynch)

<>Channing Daughters Cabernet Franc Rosato 2008, North Fork, Long Island. 369 cases. Excellent. About $17.

<>Clayhouse Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Paso Robles. Excellent. About $14.

<>Elsa Bianchi Torrontés 2008, Mendoza. Very Good+. About $9. (Quintessential)

<>Excelsior Chardonnay 2008, Robertson, South Africa. Very Good+. About $12. (Cape Classics Imports)

<>Folie à Deux Merlot 2007, Napa Valley. Excellent. $14-$16.

<>I Stefanini Monte de Toni 2006, Soave Classico. Excellent. $15-$17. (Domenico Selections)

<>Jim Barry Wines “The Cover Drive” Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, South Australia. Excellent. About $19. (Negociants USA)

<>Josh Amber Knolls Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Red Hills, Lake County. Very Good+. About $15.

<>Justin Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Paso Robles. Excellent. About $15.

<>Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Sonoma County. Excellent. About $17.

<>Morgan Winery R.& D. Franscioni Vineyard Pinot Gris 2008, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County. Excellent. About $17.

<>Oak Ridge Winery OZV Zinfandel 2005, Lodi. Excellent. About $15.

<>Domaine Le Peu de la Moriette 2007, Vouvray, Loire Valley. Excellent. About $19. (Vineyards Brands)

<>Petraio Nero d’Avola 2007, Sicily. Very Good+. About $9.50. (Scoperta Importing Co.)

<>Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Sonoma County. Excellent. About $15.

<>Le Rosé de Mouton Cadet 2008, Bordeaux. 65% merlot, 20% cabernet franc, 15% cabernet sauvignon. Very Good+. About $10. (Constellation Wines USA)

<>Rued Chardonnay 2007, Russian River Valley. Excellent. About $18.

<>!ZaZin Old Vines Zinfandel 2007, Lodi. Excellent. About $17.