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The Sommelier Speaks
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| The Sommelier Speaks: Fred Price of Union Pacific |
Thursday October 3, 2002
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Speaker: Fred Price, Wine Director, Union Pacific Restaurant
To my mind the Sommelier Series are some of the most rewarding, interesting and broadening events Tasters Guild offers. The speakers are not only knowledgeable about wine, but more importantly are in the thick of it. They are professionals on the highest level in the industry, and have a "working" knowledge of the interplay of wine and food.
Fred Price came of age in the heady days when wine was first taking hold as a "serious" business, in the first group of Kevin Zraly protegees at Windows -On-The-World, and the first Wine Spectator "Wine Experience." He was included in the team when Joseph Baum and Michael Whiteman Company re-vamped The Rainbow Room, became the sommelier at Picholine and has been the Wine Director at Union Pacific for three years. In addition, he is currently importing and distributing a few wines, four of which were included in this tasting.
Wines are listed in the order of presentation. The 35 attendees were asked to vote for their favorite wine in each flight. Prices are NYC retail with full mark-up. Notes are a combination of the speaker's and Kim Ginsberg, a NYC based wine consultant and formerly a professor of wine education at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
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| Flight I: Champagne |
Votes |
Full Retail $ |
Paul Goerg, Brut NV
One of the wines in Fred's portfolio. As he counseled, this is proof of what a co-op can accomplish! Words like "negotiant" and "co-op" do not always have to signify a lesser wine. This 100% Chardonnay champagne is from a group of about 100 growers near Epernay and is produced from only the first pressing of grapes -- subsequent pressings are sold to major houses including Veuve Clicquot.
Very pretty and clear light straw color, with a warming toasty, yeasty nose, full fruit flavor, but with an uplifting lemony finish. Fred pointed out some licorice, anise flavors as well, which I did find after I looked for it. This is the value of speaking out about the wines. We can often guide each other to find flavors we have overlooked. |
15 |
$27.00 |
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Paul Goerg Rose NV
Another stunner! Beautiful pink color -- no orange or salmon here. Just rosy pink, full strawberry flavor with a smooth long finish, none of the short, acidic flatness often found in NV roses. A blend of 15% Pinot Noir and 85% Chardonnay. Besides the strawberries, Fred found "autumnal" flavors which eluded me, no matter how many sips I enjoyed in the search.
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12 |
$32.00 |
| Flight II: Loire |
Votes |
Full Retail $ |
Vatan Ch. du Hureau, Saumur Blanc 1999
From the Loire Valley where Chenin Blanc reaches its full and incredibly varied potential, this "little" wine, with all stainless steel vinification, had a complex nose of flinty, smokey and honeysuckle smells, with a viscosity in the mouth that made the flavors seem all the more rich, but with great acidity that left a clean, bright finish. Fred explained that some botrytises grapes were vinified dry and then added to this wine, explaining the fabulously intoxicating, floral honey nose. |
11 |
$15.00 |
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Domaine Deletang, Montlouis Les Batisses 2000
Before receiving its own appellation status, Montlouis was incorporated in the designated area of Vouvray. Although this wine is younger than the previous one, it tasted softer, off-dry, easier drinking with some flinty smells, peaceful fruity flavors and a good clean finish.
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16 |
$15.00 |
| Flight III: Germany and Austria |
Votes |
Full Retail $ |
Selbach-Oster, Zeltinger Himmelreich, Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken 2001
A charmer from the Mosel, famous for the leaner, more lemony wines from Germany, from a winery that produces 15,000 cases of wine -- minuscule compared to most California wineries. This wine from the always reliable Terry Theise portfolio is a great sipper, scrumptious, mouth-watering tart pineapple fruit, a bit of flint in the nose and great refreshing lively acidity. |
3 |
$18.00 |
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Muller-Catoir, Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten, Riesling Kabinett 2000
Another gem from Terry Theise and the Rhine! The winery produces only 11,000 cases, and this one shows how rich and luscious a Kabinett can be. It has all the peachiness this area is known for, pretty honeysuckle aromas, a mouth filling, mouth coating wine. Fred's description of it as a "Carmen Miranda hat" was apt. Just that hat in a glass! All rich and ripe fruits and flowers! A golden wine. |
18 |
$25.00 |
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Jamek, Ried Achleiten, Gruner Veltliner, Smaragd 2000
A wine from the Wachau in Austria.... and I strongly disagree with Fred for putting this wine after a leaner, drier, high acid wine after the unctuous Muller-Catoir. One of the most typical flavors of Gruner Veltliner is tart, Granny Smith green apples, and though I liked the strange earthiness and the acidity in the wine..alas, I found no appley fruit, just an oiliness.
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1 |
$30.00 |
| Flight IV: Burgundy |
Votes |
Full Retail $ |
| I find that of all the wines in the world, we are at the biggest disadvantage when tasting young Burgundies. Unlike Bordeaux (or Bordeaux-style) wines, when young, their fruit is usually apparent, and we can imagine how it might taste when the tannins soften a bit. But the fruit is so lean and acidic with young Burgundies, they really need time to flesh out, bloom in the bottle, in order to evaluate them. |
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Domaine Louis Max, Mercurey, Clos la Marche, 2000
A very light colored wine, it looked more like a red Sancerre to me than a Burgundy. Clean, pretty sour-bursting cherry fruit, very astringent and very young. |
1 |
$18.00 |
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Champy Pere & C., Beaune, Vieilles Vignes 2000
Now we have a Burgundy! This wine is from a negotiant and shows what good wine and good wine values can be had from a negotiant who is careful. Darker color, ruby brightness, with a bit of warm earthiness in the nose. Still very young but with a good meatiness in the flavor besides cherry fruit. |
4 |
$25.00 |
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Dom. Rossignol-Trapet, Gevrey Chambertin 1st Cru, Clos Prieur, 2000
Bigger wine all around. A full nose but smelled oddly sweetened in an off putting way (to me). Full-bodied wine with a pleasant perfuminess to it, with lots of dried powdered violets lingering in the finish.
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19 |
$38.00 |
| Flight V: Rhone and Long Island |
Votes |
Full Retail $ |
Dom. Gondran, Vacqueyras, 1999
From the Southern Rhone, where Grenache is the mainstay of the blends, this wine comes from a small town just down river from Gigondas. It was a true mix between Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas: not having quite the brutishness and meatiness of a Gigondas, nor quite the elegance and flair of a Chateauneuf, it was somewhere in the middle. It was bold enough but with an easy charm, exotic, perfumed with all the violets and licorice the area is known for....but it was red licorice, a nice raspberry fruit with some nice black pepper spice that left one wanting more. Just a delicious wine. |
18 |
$15.00 |
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Bedell Cellars, Reserve Merlot, 1998
I found it rather simple and marred by the tradition of over oaking. Fred thought it rich and full-bodied. It was full-bodied, but since when does density equate with quality or balance or complexity? On retasting I found an aromatic herbal smell and mintiness, herbaceous with the typical vegetal quality that the Merlots from Long Island often have.
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22 |
$30.00 |
| Flight VI: Zinfandel |
Votes |
Full Retail $ |
Rancho Zabacho, Zinfandel, Dry Creek Ranch, 1999 Gallo
Full-bodied plonk with pronounced alcohol and rather flat one-dimensional nondescript flavors, and yet not a long finish. For me, this dull wine had no qualities of Zinfandel -that is, no spice, no black pepper, nor dried fruits. |
8 |
$14.00 |
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Robert Biale, Zinfandel, Spenker Vineyards, 2000
At least this offering had distinct flavors, both very sweet fruit and overripe rotten fruit, a vegetal flavor I did not find appealing. Being full-bodied is not enough of a characteristic to override the other weaknesses or flaws in wine.
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17 |
$35.00 |
| Flight VII: Washington |
Votes |
Full Retail $ |
Trey Marie Cellars, Trutina, 1999
This is another offering from Fred's own line of wines and is from Walla Walla in the famed Columbia Valley of Washington State. He tells us that it is the winery's attempt at producing at St. Emilion-style wine.
It is a blend of 52% Merlot, and Cabernet and a bit of Cabernet Franc. It was a pretty, dark, dense garnet red wine, with sweet, ripe-ripe fruit flavors and a flat finish, lacking acidity. |
7 |
$28.00 |
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Dunham Cellars, Syrah 2000
This is made by the same winery as the previous wine, owned by Mr. Dumham. Isn't it difficult enough to establish name recognition without having two names?
Dark, very dark wine, as is expected from this varietal. But it is so overwhelmed by the sweet oak that none of the grip, spice, pepper, earth, rock and mineral and "sauvage" of what this variety can give us was apparent. Another wine that has been unmercifully mauled.
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21 |
N/A |
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