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Tilting at Windmills

What: 2006 Windmill Estates Zinfandel Old Vine Lodi

How much: $18 

Vinapedia rating: ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠
 
I was intrigued by the 7 Deadly Zins tasting notes and decided, as is my wont, to see what else the family tree might offer. Often, moving up or down a product line is pretty revelatory and, furthermore, late summer (which in Florida stretches until December) is the time of year when one eats the sorts of food which clamors for Zinfandel. The decision to go on a Zin streak is pretty automatic.
 
As you may have already read in these august pages, Michael ‘n’ David Phillips are fifth generation growers in Lodi, California. What sets them apart is the willingness to use their 500 acres of wine grapes for creative experimentation and innovation. (You’ll read more on that as time passes.) These vineyards have their thirst quenched, if National Geographic is anything to go by, by the Mokelumne River carrying water from the Sierra Nevada (the mountains, not the beer, although THAT would be interesting) riddled with nutritious minerals that enhance the soil.
 
These guys make it a point to use an all-natural growing methodology akin to those employed by growers who are certified organic, although they are not. Still, the effort to grow as non-artificially as possible pays off nicely.
 
This is an ideal everyday Zin, crisp and somewhat spicy, with solid tannins and this ripe cherry and black berry (NOT blackberry, which is not to say there isn’t some sort of blackberry thing going on in the , I’m just trying to be precise here) flavor profile that morphs happily into the espresso/tobacco/cocoa end of the spectrum. It has a great, lush mouthfeel and a good — but not overlong – finish that allows it to pair well with slightly spicy, lighter, grilled meats. This is, quite literally, a food wine; not so much something to have a s a beverage, but something meant specifically for dining. In that context it really, really works.
 
This is ideal for pasta in a tomato sauce laden with prosciutto or pancetta or other Italian cured meats; it REALLY works with the components usually found in cured pork.

Not So Inglorious Bastides

What: La Bastide Saint Dominique’s 2007 Cotes du Rhone Villages

How much: $18

Vinapedia rating: ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠

Research, people. It pays to research. These days it’s the coin of the realm, as the actual coins of the realm are in such a short supply as to be considered, statistically anyway, purely theoretical. If you will cast your mind back to about a year ago, you will recall our spectacular triumph of scoring a Bordeaux from a not-so-known chateau that drinks like a kilodollar bottle. Then, the world having ended and Armageddon starting up with everyone’s bank balance, we pursued a strategy of ceaseless research that led to our previous selection.

Today, we present another research strategy: What vineyard is check-by-jowl with the Big Names and staffed by bright young winemakers with cleverness to compensate for the Not So Big Nameness, especially on this year’s Vintage of the Century? Find those and you will be astonished what you can decant for a Jackson or less. This time our featured player is La Bastide Saint Dominique’s 2007 Cotes du Rhone Villages.

Conveniently, this is cheek by jowl with La Bastide Saint Dominique’s stellar Cotes du Rhone, superb Gigondas and, natch, a sublime Chateauneuf du Pape (and also cheek by jowl with Beaucastel’s, Rayas’ and Clos du Caillou’s Chateuneuf du Papes, should you need additional convincing). So we can keep the Big/Little Name thing cozily in the family. Even more conveniently, both these wines are the product of Eric Bonnet, a 31 year old whiz kid winemaker. So you see where this is going. That’s right, for about $18 (street price, MSRP is $22) you can have what is all-but-in-name a Chateuneuf du Pape, and a stunning one at that.

A big part of the “why” are the ages of the vines and the blend of the grapes therefrom. Check it: 40-year-old Grenache vines, 50-year-old Carignane and Mourvedre vines and, for youthful piquancy, 30-year-old Syrah vines. On the nose you get a clean hit of kirschwasser, raspberry, anise, and a haunting herbes d’ Provence thing going on. This is a pretty full-bodied red and, although you could drink it now (especially if your palate is given to that preference) but the Vinapedia concensus is to give it some cellar time. Start late next year and then watch it mature between now and 2015…or, if you’re like us, 2020. Pair it with seared and fairly well seasoned — not spicy, mind you — beef and lamb, even the seared-and-braised theme would profit by association. Think double-cut lamb rib chops or a daube Provençal.

You’re welcome.

— J.M. Garcia III