By Manos Angelakis

2009 did not seem remarkable during grape harvest on either the north or south hemisphere. I was in Italy, a few days after the beginning of the harvest, and the weather seemed very nice, but not particularly sunny or hot.

I’m now tasting the first bottled wines from the 2009 vintage from France and Spain and I find them actually spectacular, both reds and whites.

First, let’s start with the Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais that we tasted at ABC Kitchen in New York City on June 2. According to Mr. Duboeuf, this vintage is the best Beaujolais since 1949.

Now, I like a good Beaujolais, but I consider the wines, in general, a poor-man’s Bordeaux. In the mid-60’s I lived in Paris, and inexpensive Beaujolais was, by financial necessity, our wine of choice. A glass of Beaujolais at 40 new centimes was what Monsieur Popoff charged in his legendary Left Bank establishment “Chez Popoff’s” at Rue de la Huchette; it was there that I became acquainted with Beaujolais, and the distinctive smell of a Gauloise and a glass of Beaujolais wine always reminds me of the wild and wooly days of my youth.

But, back to the present. I tasted all of the Georges Duboeuf 2009 red Beaujolais and most are spectacular. Even the least expensive Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages generic bottles at SRP $9.99 per bottle are excellent buys. The Morgon, Domaine Jean Descombes, at SRP $14.99 is a steal, and so is the Juliénas, Château des Capitans at $17.99 per bottle. I think the best though was the Moulin-à-Vent, Domaine de la Tour du Bief (SRP $16.99), which I tasted paired with a chocolate dessert and Beaujolais sorbet. Absolutely scrumptious.

Next, we move to Spain’s Rías Baixas, and the Albariño wines.

The Rías Baixas DO was established in 1988. It is located in Galicia, and there are over 6500 small grape growers with most vineyards averaging less than half an acre. There are only 56 wineries that export product to the US market, and the 2009 vintage that we tasted on June 9, was indeed exceptional. The general characteristics of the monovarietal wines are: well-structured mineral-driven, usually a bit shy on the nose but with a bracing acidity. Albariño is the predominant cultivar representing 90% of all plantings. There are two other cultivars planted in Rías Baixas, Treixadura and Lureiro Blanco that are usually blended with Albariño to soften the resulting wine and add aroma. Some growers are experimenting with other varietals, like Torrontes and Godello, but the acreage dedicated to those experiments is minimal.

Both blends and monovarietals pair well with Galician seafood cooking, spicy Asian dishes and can be a worthy accompaniment to the more complex tapas, instead of a sherry.

Some of the better samples, from my notes.

Laxas Albariño: Highly aromatic with peach and honeysuckle predominating on the nose; off-dry on the palate with some acidity. Probably a blend from the Condado do Tea subzone. SRP $16.00

Condes de Albarei: Shy on the nose, crisp with a lemony finish. SRP $15

Brandal, from the Salnes Valley: Very dry, almost odorless. According to the person manning the table, it is a blend of Albariño grapes from plots owned by the winery and grapes sourced from other growers. Stainless fermented, with no secondary malolactic fermentation. Though the SRP in the tasting book is indicated as $18, the person pouring the samples said $22. Slightly grassy nose, very dry.

Mar de Frades, also from the Salness Valley: Very light color, hints of grassiness on the nose. Well balanced palate with a medium finish. In a blue tinted Riesling-style bottle. One of the better samples, SRP $25

Pazo de Señorans: Lightly herbal and fruity nose. Slightly off-dry palate with a long finish. An excellent example of a food-friendly Albariño. SRP $25

Santiago Ruiz: from the O Rosal subzone. A very nice blend of 80% Albariño and 20% Lureiro and Treixadura (the percentages of the last two grapes vary with the vintage). A slightly apricot-scented nose with hints of jasmine. Bracing acidity. At SRP $20 it is a very well priced example for the quality involved.

Albariño de Fefiñanes, also from the Salnes Valley: Another very good wine, shy on the nose with hints of minerality. Dry finish, but not acidic. Bottled in Reisling-styled colorless bottles. SRP $23.

For more attractive and well-priced 2009 wines please see Afternoon of Rosés at LuxuryWeb Magazine

To your health!

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